Zoology and ecology
Allee completed his Chicago doctorate in 1912, taught at several institutions and returned to the University of Chicago in 1921. He also maintained a long association with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.
His work expanded from responses to physical environments into aggregation, group physiology and behaviour. After retiring in 1950 he moved to the University of Florida, continuing until his death in 1955.
References: [1]
Why aggregation changes survival
Working with freshwater isopods and other animals, Allee investigated both the causes and consequences of aggregation. He and his students compared grouped and isolated animals under adverse chemical conditions or oxygen shortage.
These studies showed that insufficient numbers could also be harmful, alongside the familiar costs of overcrowding. Group effects depended on mechanisms and conditions; increasing numbers was not necessarily always beneficial.
Writing Principles of Animal Ecology
Chicago’s ecology discussion group reviewed papers, ongoing research and book drafts. Allee collaborated with Alfred Emerson, Orlando Park, Thomas Park and Karl Schmidt on Principles of Animal Ecology.
Published in 1949 after years of discussion and revision, the book brought environmental, physiological, population and behavioural material into a common framework. It exemplified a synthetic approach to animal ecology.
Cooperation and dominance
His later research investigated social hierarchies, dominance and behavioural changes in animals including hens and mice. Cooperative effects and competitive relations both became subjects of observation and experiment.
Animal Aggregations (1931) and The Social Life of Animals (1938) brought these interests together. His account of animal societies combined experimental questions with broader interpretations of cooperation and social life.
References: [1] [2]