1960s
26 citations from this period
A note on trophic complexity and community stability
This paper introduced the term 'keystone species,' comparing the ecological role to an architectural keystone whose removal causes structural collapse...
An experimental study of the small world problem
Rigorous follow-up to Milgram's 1967 study with detailed methodology and statistical analysis, providing the scientific foundation for small-world net...
Some Demographic and Genetic Consequences of Environmental Heterogeneity for Biological Control
The original paper introducing the metapopulation concept. Developed the extinction-colonization model where equilibrium patch occupancy equals 1 - e/...
Defective repair replication of DNA in xeroderma pigmentosum
Discovery linking xeroderma pigmentosum to nucleotide excision repair defects, demonstrating consequences of impaired DNA repair redundancy. Patients...
Evolutionary Rate at the Molecular Level
The landmark paper introducing the neutral theory of molecular evolution. Kimura argued that most mutations at the molecular level are selectively neu...
The Matthew effect in science
Describes 'rich-get-richer' dynamics in scientific citations and reputation - eminent scientists get disproportionate credit for contributions while u...
Hierarchical Control and Optimum Firm Size
Williamson's economic analysis showed that hierarchical organizations face diminishing returns to scale due to information loss and control problems a...
How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension
Mandelbrot's seminal paper introduced the concept that natural structures exhibit self-similarity across scales and can have non-integer dimensions. B...
On the origin of mitosing cells
This revolutionary paper proposed the endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts, establishing that mutualism can drive major evolutionary...
The small world problem
Original small world experiment that sent letters through acquaintance chains from Nebraska to Boston, finding a median of 5 intermediate links - layi...
The Theory of Island Biogeography
Why do some organisms produce millions of offspring with minimal investment while others produce just one or two with enormous care? MacArthur and Wil...
Food web complexity and species diversity
This foundational paper describes the Pisaster starfish removal experiment that established the keystone species concept. Paine demonstrated that remo...
On optimal use of a patchy environment
MacArthur and Pianka's paper launched optimal foraging theory as a formal field of study. They established the fundamental premise that organisms shou...
Optimizing reproduction in a randomly varying environment
Early theoretical work establishing the mathematical foundation for optimal seed germination strategies in variable environments. Cohen's model showed...
The role of time and energy in food preference
Emlen's work, published the same year as MacArthur and Pianka, independently developed similar optimal foraging predictions. His focus on how time and...
Aggressive Mimicry in Photuris Fireflies
Discovery that Photuris firefly females mimic the flash patterns of Photinus females to lure and consume Photinus males. Demonstrates how honest signa...
Butterflies and plants: A study in coevolution
This foundational paper introduced the concept of escape-and-radiate co-evolution, fundamentally changing how biologists understand the reciprocal evo...
The Evolution of Diversity in Avian Territorial Systems
Foundational paper establishing the economic defendability model for territorial behavior. Brown's formulation that territory is defended when benefit...
The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour
Hamilton's kin selection theory provides the foundational explanation for why organisms sacrifice for relatives - a key puzzle in explaining alarm cal...
Depth of roots in soil
This research documented the extreme depths that taproots can reach, including the famous mesquite tree taproot that extended 53 meters (175 feet) to...
Morphometry of the Human Lung
Weibel's detailed morphometric analysis of human lung structure documented the fractal branching of the bronchial tree - 23 generations of airway bran...
Ellis-van Creveld Syndrome and the Amish
Classic paper documenting the founder effect for Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in the Lancaster County Amish. The condition occurs in 1 in 200 births (ve...
Identification of iso-amyl acetate as an active component in the sting pheromone of the honey bee
When a bee stings, it marks the target. Boch, Shearer, and Stone identified the chemical behind this marking—iso-amyl acetate (isopentyl acetate)—esta...
The Architecture of Complexity
Why are nearly all complex systems - from organisms to organizations to watch mechanisms - hierarchically organized? Herbert Simon's 1962 classic demo...
Immunological function of the thymus
This foundational paper opens the chapter by revealing that what appeared redundant (the thymus, which atrophies after puberty) was actually essential...
Community structure, population control, and competition
This influential paper proposed the 'green world hypothesis': predators control herbivore populations, allowing vegetation to flourish. The HSS paper...