Chaos in Ecology
Experimental Nonlinear Dynamics
- 1st Edition, Volume 1 - October 15, 2002
- Latest edition
- Authors: J. M. Cushing, Robert F. Costantino, Brian Dennis, Robert Desharnais, Shandelle Marie Henson
- Language: English
It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of all biological systems and how these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in… Read more
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Description
Description
It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of all biological systems and how these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in ecology have documented how these sorts of patterns are the consequences of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created. Chaos in Ecology will explain how simple beginnings result in complicated results.
Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations.
Key features
Key features
- It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of almost all biological systems and yet these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in ecology have documented that these sorts of patterns are the consequence of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created. In essence, simple beginnings result in complicated results
- This realization is captured in the mathematical notion of "chaos" and is rendered intuitive by the oft-repeated metaphor: "A butterfly beats its wings in China and causing a thunderstorm in the Midwest." Thus, seemingly trivial initial conditions (e.g. a butterfly in China) cascade through a series of intermediate events to create a significant large-scale event (e.g. a thunderstorm)
- Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations
Readership
Readership
Table of contents
Table of contents
Introduction
Models
Bifurcations
Chaos
Patterns in Chaos
What We Learned
Bibliography
Appendix
Review quotes
Review quotes
"The authors have made very circumspect model verifications...The greatest merit of the book is that it confirms experimentally the existence of numerous nonlinear phenomena in populations and presents a new characteristic of populations, that is, the lattice effect. The book is written in an excellent style with high mathematical precision. This work is warmly recommended to all theoretical and field ecologists, and all scientists interested in nonlinear dynamics."—COMMUNITY ECOLOGY, 2005
"...rich in statistical concepts and methods. Anyone interested in the dynamics of populations will benefit from reading this book."—ECOLOGY, 2003
"In a very real sense, Cushing et al. have done for ecology what Newton did for physics. They have demonstrated that the observed, very complex behavior of biological populations can, at least in principle, be derived and predicted from a knowledge of the operant biological mechanisms expressed in simple mathematical models. ...Chaos in Ecology is a road-map for making ecology into a genuinely predictive science."—Aaron A. King, University of Tennessee, 2002
"This is the definitive source on chaos in ecology. Well-written and authoritative."—Simon Levin, Princeton University, 2002
"Chaos in Ecology ought to be read by both field and theoretical ecologists."—COMPLEX SYSTEMS LAB, BARCELONA SPAIN
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Volume: 1
- Published: December 11, 2002
- Language: English
About the authors
About the authors
RC
Robert F. Costantino
BD
Brian Dennis
RD
Robert Desharnais
SH