Ecosystem PP 1

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How does order appear in a complex system?

- Order can emerge spontaneously at higher levels from behavior at lower levels without the need for a 'global controller'

How are complex systems structured?

- They show hierarchical structuring

What is the average depth of the oean?

- 3200m

How much faster does sound travel in water?

- 4.3x faster in water

What are Complex adaptive systems?

- A complex system is a large-scale system whose behaviors may change, evolve, or adapt.

How can we simplify and ecosystem?

- All ecosystems show similar emergent properties because they are CASs and are constrained by the Laws of Thermodynamics

What are the general Characteristics of ecosystems?

- Biotic and abiotic components - Interactions between components - Scale independent (Boundaries need to be defined) - Ecosystems are open (to mass and information)

What are some examples of simple systems?

- Car - Computer - Bike

What is a system?

- Collection of interconnected interacting parts that exist within some boundary within a wider environment

What is a complex adaptive system?

- Complex system in which some form of selection or adaptation takes place among parts. Selection causes directional, irreversible change that affects whole-system structure and function

Where is it easier to counter gravity?

- Cool waters

What is the core feature of a system?

- Emergence - The behavior of a whole system may not be apparent from studying its constituent parts in isolation

What do systems generate?

- Emergent patterns that are different from those created by its individual parts

How does light differ with depth in the marine environment?

- Epipelagic: 100-1% surface light - Mesopelagic: <1% - Bathypelagic: No solar light - Light attenuates rapidly

What does ecosystem research mainly focus on?

- Focuses on variables that represent ecosystem processes and their dynamics

Examples of complex systems

- Global climate - Human brain - Power grid

How diverse in the marine environment?

- High diversity - 33 animal phyla - 31 in the ocean - 15 exclusively marine

What is the thermal capacity like in water?

- High thermal capacity - 4000 times greater than air - Temp changes more slowly than in terrestrial ecosystems

Why should we care about the ocean?

- Human activities cause widespread and unprecedented changes to the natural environment - 97.7% of the global ocean is affected by multiple drivers - 41% of the global ocean is strongly affected by multiple drivers

Describe connectivity in a system

- Not uniform through the system or between individuals - Connectivity cannot increase indefinitely

Can you predict the behavior of complex systems?

- Its difficult to predict and usually surprising but not random

What are examples of complex adaptive systems?

- Natural selection - Immune system - Government

How do people usually set ecosystem boundaries?

- Pragmatic decision - Covers a fairly large area - Doesn't need to be 'uniform' habitat

What are the importance of emergent properties?

- Primary production - Secondary production - Patterns of nutrient flux - Trophic structuring - Diversity-productivity relationships - Energy flux across and between ecosystems - Resilience and adaptation

What do parts in an adaptive system do?

- They change their rules of interaction - Act on limited local knowledge - Be self-maintaining and self repairing

Are systems scale independent or dependent?

- Scale independent

What types of systems are predictable?

- Simple systems

What are non-linear dynamics?

- Small perturbation may produce very large effects through a system, especially as we approach a threshold

What is a complex system?

- System in which interactions between component parts can create feedback loops and complex, non-linear dynamics

What theories are linked to complex adaptive systems?

- Systems theory - Chaos theory - Network theory

What does viscosity increase with?

- Temperature

Are systems open or closed?

- They may be open or closed

What is hysteresis?

- The dependence of a current or future system state on its historical state. Commonly used in ecology when describing Alternative stable states

What is co-evolution?

- The evolution of one part depends on the evolution of related parts - The evolution of one part occurs simultaneously with the evolution of all other parts

When do non-linear prevail?

- When system exist in far from equilibrium


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