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Eric D. Schneider

Bio: Eric D. Schneider is an academic researcher from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The author has contributed to research in topics: Systems ecology & Second law of thermodynamics. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 5 publications receiving 1322 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the second law of thermodynamics has been extended to nonequilibrium regions, where the evolution of a system is described in terms of gradients maintaining the system at some distance away from equilibrium.

735 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 1994-Futures
TL;DR: A thermodynamic paradigm for the development of ecosystems is proposed, suggested that as ecosystems grow and develop, they should increase their total dissipation by developing structures and processes to assist energy degradation.

229 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: The response has been one of frustration as mentioned in this paper, with the main, simple, basic, universal laws which will allow quantitative prediction of ecosystem behaviour and what are the resulting rules for ecosystem management.
Abstract: As environmental degradation and change continues, decision makers and managers feel significant pressure to rectify the situation. Scientists, in turn, find themselves under pressure to set out simple and clear rules for proper ecosystem management. The response has been one of frustration. Michael Soule and Laurence Slobdokin both loudly complain that ecology is an intractable science, immature and not very helpful. Kristin Shrader-Frechette and Robert Peters reproach ecologists for not producing simple testable hypotheses.1 Meanwhile policy makers and managers clamour for a measure of ecosystem integrity whose value in different situations can be predicted by simulation models. The question on everyone’s mind is “what does ecosystem science identify as the main, simple, basic, universal laws which will allow quantitative prediction of ecosystem behaviour and what are the resulting rules for ecosystem management?”

208 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Sep 1995
TL;DR: The phenomenology of many natural systems shows that much of the world is inhabited by nonequilibrium coherent structures, such as convection cells, autocatalytic chemical reactions and life itself, which exhibit a march away from disorder and equilibrium, into highly organized structures that exist some distance from equilibrium.
Abstract: INTRODUCTION In the middle of the 19th century, two major scientific theories emerged about the evolution of natural systems over time. Thermodynamics, as refined by Boltzmann, viewed nature as decaying towards a certain death of random disorder in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. This equilibrium seeking, pessimistic view of the evolution of natural systems is contrasted with the paradigm associated with Darwin, of increasing complexity, specialization, and organization of biological systems through time. The phenomenology of many natural systems shows that much of the world is inhabited by nonequilibrium coherent structures, such as convection cells, autocatalytic chemical reactions and life itself. Living systems exhibit a march away from disorder and equilibrium, into highly organized structures that exist some distance from equilibrium. This dilemma motivated Erwin Schrodinger, and in his seminal book What is Life ? (Schrodinger, 1944), he attempted to draw together the fundamental processes of biology and the sciences of physics and chemistry. He noted that life was comprised of two fundamental processes; one ‘ order from order ’ and the other ‘ order from disorder ’. He observed that the gene generated order from order in a species, that is, the progeny inherited the traits of the parent. Over a decade later Watson and Crick (1953) provided biology with a research agenda that has led to some of the most important findings of the last fifty years. However, Schrodinger's equally important but less understood observation was his order from disorder premise. This was an effort to link biology with the fundamental theorems of thermodynamics (Schneider, 1987).

142 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors have studied the organization of ecosystems using complex systems theory, and in particular non-equilibrium thermodynamics, leading to a set of hypotheses concerning the organizational development of ecosystems.
Abstract: Over the past decade, the authors have studied the organization of ecosystems using complex systems theory, and in particular non-equilibrium thermodynamics. This study has led to a set of hypotheses concerning the organizational development of ecosystems, a thermodynamic framework for discussing ecosystem integrity, and a set of measures that reflect ecosystem organization and aid in the assessment of the impact of environmental change. These are presented herein.

80 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the use of the maximum entropy method (Maxent) for modeling species geographic distributions with presence-only data was introduced, which is a general-purpose machine learning method with a simple and precise mathematical formulation.

13,120 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The resilience perspective is increasingly used as an approach for understanding the dynamics of social-ecological systems as mentioned in this paper, which emphasizes non-linear dynamics, thresholds, uncertainty and surprise, how periods of gradual change interplay with periods of rapid change and how such dynamics interact across temporal and spatial scales.
Abstract: The resilience perspective is increasingly used as an approach for understanding the dynamics of social–ecological systems. This article presents the origin of the resilience perspective and provides an overview of its development to date. With roots in one branch of ecology and the discovery of multiple basins of attraction in ecosystems in the 1960–1970s, it inspired social and environmental scientists to challenge the dominant stable equilibrium view. The resilience approach emphasizes non-linear dynamics, thresholds, uncertainty and surprise, how periods of gradual change interplay with periods of rapid change and how such dynamics interact across temporal and spatial scales. The history was dominated by empirical observations of ecosystem dynamics interpreted in mathematical models, developing into the adaptive management approach for responding to ecosystem change. Serious attempts to integrate the social dimension is currently taking place in resilience work reflected in the large numbers of sciences involved in explorative studies and new discoveries of linked social–ecological systems. Recent advances include understanding of social processes like, social learning and social memory, mental models and knowledge–system integration, visioning and scenario building, leadership, agents and actor groups, social networks, institutional and organizational inertia and change, adaptive capacity, transformability and systems of adaptive governance that allow for management of essential ecosystem services.

4,899 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, institutional theory is used to understand how consensus is built around the meaning of sustainability, and how concepts or practices associated with sustainability are developed and diffused among organizations.
Abstract: Our main objective in this article is to join the growing group of "green" organization theorists by demonstrating the usefulness of institutional theory as an approach to ecologically sustainable organizations. Institutional theory helps to understand how consensus is built around the meaning of sustainability and how concepts or practices associated with sustainability are developed and diffused among organizations. We extend institutional theory by offering hypotheses in four different areas: (a) the incorporation of values into organizational sustainability, (b) the study of institutions as distinct elements within systems, (c) the study of institutions as distinct spheres, and (d) the construction of paradigms that support organizational sustainability. We then offer possible modifications to institutional theory that are suggested by the extension to a new area of study. Among them are the consideration of natural constraints on sense making and paradigm construction, the study of regional networks, and the recognition of the role of individual actors. Finally, we discuss possible avenues for future research by drawing on research that we are currently conducting.

1,069 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe an approach to assess the ecological role of cities and to estimate the scale of the impact they are having on the ecosphere, showing that cities are causally linked to accelerating global ecological decline and are not by themselves sustainable.

935 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although the use of indicator species remains contentious, it can be useful if many species representing various taxa and lifehistories are included in the monitoring program and caution is applied when interpreting their population trends to distinguish actual signals from variations that may be unrelated to the deterioration of ecological integrity.
Abstract: We review critical issues that must be considered when selecting indicator species for a monitoring program that aims to maintain or restore ecological integrity. First, we examine the pros and cons of different management approaches on which a conservation program can be based and conclude that ecosystem management is most appropriate. We then identify potential indicators of ecological integrity at various levels of the ecosystem, with a particular emphasis on the species level. We conclude that, although the use of indicator species remains contentious, it can be useful if (1) many species representing various taxa and life histories are included in the monitoring program, (2) their selection is primarily based on a sound quantitative database from the focal region, and (3) caution is applied when interpreting their population trends to distinguish actual signals from variations that may be unrelated to the deterioration of ecological integrity. Finally, we present and discuss different methods that have been used to select indicator species.

723 citations