Stablizers against change
You would be forgiven for thinking that ecosystems are constantly changing and collapsing. For the most part, drastic change is quite rare. Communities of plants and animals persist over multiple generations, yet ecologists appear to be more attracted to the study of change than stasis. We think that this risks ignoring the mechanisms that resist change and be bolstered by managment.
Connell, S. D. and G. Ghedini. 2015. Resisting regime-shifts: the stabilising effect of compensatory processes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 30:513-515.
Connell, S.D. et al. 2016. Ecological resistance - why mechanisms matter. Trends in Ecology and Evolution http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.03.015
The stablity of biological systems
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Compared to the study of stability, studying change is simpler
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Plants and animals my compensate for change so no outward change is evident
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I wonder whether compensation may scale-up across multiple levels of organisation
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When compensation fails, we see the consequences of dramatic shifts in biological state
Ghedini, G., B. D. Russell, and S. D. Connell. 2015. Trophic compensation reinforces resistance: herbivory absorbs the increasing effects of multiple disturbances. Ecology Letters 18:182-187.
Stability in the face of local and global pollution
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Herbivores consume boosted productivity caused by nutients & atmospheric CO2
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The greater the intensity of pollution and response, the greater the compensatory effect
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Compensation fully absorbs the ecological effects of disturbance to stabilise the system
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Compensation occurs before resilience (i.e. recovery) to stability maintain stability.
Current work on stability
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Can the quest for homeostasis at the level of an organism scale-up?
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Variation in trophic responses to disturbance trigger counter-balancing properties.
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Increasing intensity of change increases the tension betwen these opposing forces.