Ecosystem PP 1
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
