Bifurcations and Dynamic Complexity in Simple Ecological Models
TL;DR: It is shown that as a hump steepens, the dynamics goes from a stable point, to a bifurcating hierarchy of stable cycles of period 2n, into a region of chaotic behavior where the population exhibits an apparently random sequence of "outbreaks" followed by "crashes".
Abstract: Many biological populations breed seasonally and have nonoverlapping generations, so that their dynamics are described by first-order difference equations, Nt+1 = F (Nt). In many cases, F(N) as a function of N will have a hump. We show, very generally, that as such a hump steepens, the dynamics goes from a stable point, to a bifurcating hierarchy of stable cycles of period 2n, into a region of chaotic behavior where the population exhibits an apparently random sequence of "outbreaks" followed by "crashes." We give a detailed account of the underlying mathematics of this process and review other situations (in two- and higher dimensional systems, or in differential equation systems) where apparently random dynamics can arise from bifurcation processes. This complicated behavior, in simple deterministic models, can have disturbing implications for the analysis and interpretation of biological data.
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TL;DR: Acts in what Hutchinson (1965) has called the 'ecological theatre' are played out on various scales of space and time and to understand the drama, one must view it on the appropriate scale.
Abstract: Acts in what Hutchinson (1965) has called the 'ecological theatre' are played out on various scales of space and time. To understand the drama, we must view it on the appropriate scale. Plant ecologists long ago recognized the importance of sampling scale in their descriptions of the dispersion or distribution of species (e.g. Greig-Smith, 1952). However, many ecologists have behaved as if patterns and the processes that produce them are insensitive to differences in scale and have designed their studies with little explicit attention to scale. Kareiva & Andersen (1988) surveyed nearly 100 field experiments in community ecology and found that half were conducted on plots no larger than 1 m in diameter, despite considerable differences in the sizes and types of organisms studied. Investigators addressing the same questions have often conducted their studies on quite different scales. Not surprisingly, their findings have not always matched, and arguments have ensued. The disagreements among conservation biologists over the optimal design of nature reserves (see Simberloff, 1988) are at least partly due to a failure to appreciate scaling differences among organisms. Controversies about the role of competition in structuring animal communities (Schoener, 1982; Wiens, 1983, 1989) or about the degree of coevolution in communities (Connell, 1980; Roughgarden, 1983) may reflect the
4,437 citations
TL;DR: First-order nonlinear differential-delay equations describing physiological control systems displaying a broad diversity of dynamical behavior including limit cycle oscillations, with a variety of wave forms, and apparently aperiodic or "chaotic" solutions are studied.
Abstract: First-order nonlinear differential-delay equations describing physiological control systems are studied. The equations display a broad diversity of dynamical behavior including limit cycle oscillations, with a variety of wave forms, and apparently aperiodic or "chaotic" solutions. These results are discussed in relation to dynamical respiratory and hematopoietic diseases.
3,839 citations
TL;DR: This review discusses how alternate stable states can arise in simple 1- and 2-species systems, and applies these ideas to grazing systems, to insect pests, and to some human host–parasite systems.
Abstract: Theory and observation indicate that natural multi-species assemblies of plants and animals are likely to possess several different equilibrium points. This review discusses how alternate stable states can arise in simple 1- and 2-species systems, and applies these ideas to grazing systems, to insect pests, and to some human host–parasite systems.
1,508 citations
TL;DR: This work states that because anthropogenic changes often affect stability and diversity simultaneously, diversity-stability relationships cannot be understood outside the context of the environmental drivers affecting both.
Abstract: Understanding the relationship between diversity and stability requires a knowledge of how species interact with each other and how each is affected by the environment. The relationship is also complex, because the concept of stability is multifaceted; different types of stability describing different properties of ecosystems lead to multiple diversity-stability relationships. A growing number of empirical studies demonstrate positive diversity-stability relationships. These studies, however, have emphasized only a few types of stability, and they rarely uncover the mechanisms responsible for stability. Because anthropogenic changes often affect stability and diversity simultaneously, diversity-stability relationships cannot be understood outside the context of the environmental drivers affecting both. This shifts attention away from diversity-stability relationships toward the multiple factors, including diversity, that dictate the stability of ecosystems.
1,247 citations
Book•
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27 Oct 1994
TL;DR: The nature of fractals and the use of fractal instead of classical scaling concepts to describe the irregular surfaces, structures, and processes exhibited by physiological systems are described in this paper.
Abstract: The nature of fractals and the use of fractals instead of classical scaling concepts to describe the irregular surfaces, structures, and processes exhibited by physiological systems are described. The mathematical development of fractals is reviewed, and examples of natural fractals are cited. Relationships among power laws, noise, and fractal time signals are examined. >
968 citations
References
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TL;DR: This is an interpretive review of first-order difference equations, which can exhibit a surprising array of dynamical behaviour, from stable points, to a bifurcating hierarchy of stable cycles, to apparently random fluctuations.
Abstract: First-order difference equations arise in many contexts in the biological, economic and social sciences. Such equations, even though simple and deterministic, can exhibit a surprising array of dynamical behaviour, from stable points, to a bifurcating hierarchy of stable cycles, to apparently random fluctuations. There are consequently many fascinating problems, some concerned with delicate mathematical aspects of the fine structure of the trajectories, and some concerned with the practical implications and applications. This is an interpretive review of them.
6,118 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1947
TL;DR: Recent statistical techniques, including nonlinear programming, have been added to a basic survey of equilibrium systems, comparative statistics, consumer behavior theory, and cost and production theory as discussed by the authors, and they have been used in a variety of applications.
Abstract: Recent statistical techniques, including nonlinear programming, have been added to a basic survey of equilibrium systems, comparative statistics, consumer behavior theory, and cost and production theory.
4,532 citations
Book•
22 Nov 1973
TL;DR: This book discusses ecosystem dynamics under Changing Climates, which includes community dynamics at the community level, and factors that limit Distributions, which limit the amount of variation in population size.
Abstract: This CD-ROM helps students learn to think like field ecologists, whether estimating the number of mice on an imaginary island or restoring prairie land in Iowa, through 26 interactive field experiments and tutorials. The CD-ROM also includes test questions, quiz questions, weblinks, and a glossary. Included with every student copy of the text.
4,098 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a generalized logistic equation was used to model the distribution of points of impact on a spinning bit for oil well drilling, as mentioned if this distribution is helpful in predicting uneven wear of the bit.
Abstract: The way phenomena or processes evolve or change in time is often described by differential equations or difference equations. One of the simplest mathematical situations occurs when the phenomenon can be described by a single number as, for example, when the number of children susceptible to some disease at the beginning of a school year can be estimated purely as a function of the number for the previous year. That is, when the number x n+1, at the beginning of the n + 1st year (or time period) can be written
$${x_{n + 1}} = F({x_n}),$$
(1.1)
where F maps an interval J into itself. Of course such a model for the year by year progress of the disease would be very simplistic and would contain only a shadow of the more complicated phenomena. For other phenomena this model might be more accurate. This equation has been used successfully to model the distribution of points of impact on a spinning bit for oil well drilling, as mentioned if [8, 11] knowing this distribution is helpful in predicting uneven wear of the bit. For another example, if a population of insects has discrete generations, the size of the n + 1st generation will be a function of the nth. A reasonable model would then be a generalized logistic equation
$${x_{n + 1}} = r{x_n}[1 - {x_n}/K].$$
(1.2)
3,278 citations
TL;DR: Plotting net reproduction (reproductive potential of the adults obtained) against the density of stock which produced them, for a number of fish and invertebrate populations, gives a domed curve whose apex lies above the line representing replacement reproduction.
Abstract: Plotting net reproduction (reproductive potential of the adults obtained) against the density of stock which produced them, for a number of fish and invertebrate populations, gives a domed curve wh...
3,037 citations