Kevin S. McCann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134178
- eISBN:
- 9781400840687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134178.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This book explores how interaction strength affects the dynamics of food webs. It aims to conceptually synthesize our current understanding of one of the big questions in ecology and evolution: What ...
More
This book explores how interaction strength affects the dynamics of food webs. It aims to conceptually synthesize our current understanding of one of the big questions in ecology and evolution: What governs ecological stability? The book discusses the consequences of human impacts for the intricate, detailed spatial and temporal structure that underlies most pristine ecosystems. It asserts that ecologists never saw the balance of nature as a perfect equilibrium process. This chapter defines stability and examines the role whole systems play in governing stable ecosystem function. It also considers the stability problem by presenting examples that illustrate how humans cause ecological instability and ecosystem collapse. It concludes with an overview of the book's proposed theory about food webs and ecosystems that can help elucidate the ways that perturbations (such as human impact) ought to influence the sustainability of ecosystems.Less
This book explores how interaction strength affects the dynamics of food webs. It aims to conceptually synthesize our current understanding of one of the big questions in ecology and evolution: What governs ecological stability? The book discusses the consequences of human impacts for the intricate, detailed spatial and temporal structure that underlies most pristine ecosystems. It asserts that ecologists never saw the balance of nature as a perfect equilibrium process. This chapter defines stability and examines the role whole systems play in governing stable ecosystem function. It also considers the stability problem by presenting examples that illustrate how humans cause ecological instability and ecosystem collapse. It concludes with an overview of the book's proposed theory about food webs and ecosystems that can help elucidate the ways that perturbations (such as human impact) ought to influence the sustainability of ecosystems.
Kevin S. McCann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134178
- eISBN:
- 9781400840687
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134178.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a ...
More
Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a proliferation of research seeking to address these critical areas. Arguing that the various recent and classical food web theories can be looked at collectively and in a highly consistent and testable way, this book synthesizes and reconciles modern and classical perspectives into a general unified theory. The book brings together outcomes from population-, community-, and ecosystem-level approaches under the common currency of energy or material fluxes. It shows that these approaches—often studied in isolation—all have the same general implications in terms of stability of the population dynamics. Specifically, increased fluxes of energy or material tend to destabilize populations, communities, and whole ecosystems. With this understanding, stabilizing structures at different levels of the ecological hierarchy can be identified and any population-, community-, or ecosystem-level structures that mute energy or material flow also stabilize systems dynamics. The book uses this powerful general framework to discuss the effects of human impact on ecological stability and sustainability, and it demonstrates that there is clear empirical evidence that the structures supporting ecological systems have been dangerously eroded. Uniting the latest research on food webs with classical theories, this book will be a standard source in the understanding of natural food web functions.Less
Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a proliferation of research seeking to address these critical areas. Arguing that the various recent and classical food web theories can be looked at collectively and in a highly consistent and testable way, this book synthesizes and reconciles modern and classical perspectives into a general unified theory. The book brings together outcomes from population-, community-, and ecosystem-level approaches under the common currency of energy or material fluxes. It shows that these approaches—often studied in isolation—all have the same general implications in terms of stability of the population dynamics. Specifically, increased fluxes of energy or material tend to destabilize populations, communities, and whole ecosystems. With this understanding, stabilizing structures at different levels of the ecological hierarchy can be identified and any population-, community-, or ecosystem-level structures that mute energy or material flow also stabilize systems dynamics. The book uses this powerful general framework to discuss the effects of human impact on ecological stability and sustainability, and it demonstrates that there is clear empirical evidence that the structures supporting ecological systems have been dangerously eroded. Uniting the latest research on food webs with classical theories, this book will be a standard source in the understanding of natural food web functions.
Kevin S. McCann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134178
- eISBN:
- 9781400840687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134178.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter examines the influence of biological lags on consumer–resource dynamics, with particular emphasis on how consumer–resource cycles, or the lack thereof, interact with population level ...
More
This chapter examines the influence of biological lags on consumer–resource dynamics, with particular emphasis on how consumer–resource cycles, or the lack thereof, interact with population level dynamical phenomena. It first considers discrete consumer–resource interactions before discussing the dynamics of stage-structured consumer–resource interactions. It then explains how stage structure promotes the possibility of alternative stable states and changes consumer–resource interaction strength. It also shows how a change in population structure affects food web interactions and/or the strengths of food webs. Finally, it reviews empirical results that show how stage structure and food web interaction influence ecological stability. The chapter argues that weak and inherently stable consumer–resource interactions can mute a potentially unstable population level phenomenon, and that a dynamically decoupled stable stage class can strongly stabilize other stages and the consumer–resource interaction.Less
This chapter examines the influence of biological lags on consumer–resource dynamics, with particular emphasis on how consumer–resource cycles, or the lack thereof, interact with population level dynamical phenomena. It first considers discrete consumer–resource interactions before discussing the dynamics of stage-structured consumer–resource interactions. It then explains how stage structure promotes the possibility of alternative stable states and changes consumer–resource interaction strength. It also shows how a change in population structure affects food web interactions and/or the strengths of food webs. Finally, it reviews empirical results that show how stage structure and food web interaction influence ecological stability. The chapter argues that weak and inherently stable consumer–resource interactions can mute a potentially unstable population level phenomenon, and that a dynamically decoupled stable stage class can strongly stabilize other stages and the consumer–resource interaction.
