Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Criticality and scaling in evolutionary ecology.

Solé, Manrubia, Benton

    Trends in Ecology & Evolution
    |May 14, 1999
    PubMed
    Summary

    Ecological systems exhibit complex dynamics across scales, often with fractal properties. New theories suggest this complexity arises from multispecies communities near instability, potentially decoupling macroevolution from microevolution.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Preparation and Certification of K-411 Glass Microspheres.

    Microscopy and microanalysis : the official journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada·2000
    Same author

    Gene network dynamics and the evolution of development.

    Trends in ecology & evolution·2000
    Same author

    Scale-dependent dimension in the forest fire model

    Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics·2000
    Same author

    Tactile spatial resolution in blind braille readers(1)

    American journal of ophthalmology·2000
    Same author

    Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular coupling of vinyl halides and ketone enolates. Synthesis Of bridged azabicyclic compounds

    Organic letters·2000
    Same author

    Ongoing airway inflammation in patients with COPD who Do not currently smoke

    Chest·2000

    Area of Science:

    • Ecology
    • Evolutionary Biology
    • Theoretical Ecology

    Background:

    • Ecological systems exhibit fluctuations across diverse spatial and temporal scales.
    • These fluctuations often display self-similar, or fractal, properties.
    • Understanding the origins of complexity in ecological dynamics is a key scientific challenge.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the theoretical underpinnings of complex dynamics in ecological systems.
    • To explore the relationship between community structure and emergent complexity.
    • To examine how ecological instability influences macroevolutionary and microevolutionary processes.

    Main Methods:

    • Application of recent theoretical approaches to ecological dynamics.
    • Analysis of network-like structures within multispecies communities.
    • Modeling of community dynamics near points of instability.

    Main Results:

    • Complexity in ecological and evolutionary dynamics appears to stem from the network structure of communities.
    • These complex communities are often characterized by their proximity to instability.
    • The findings suggest a potential mechanism for decoupling macroevolutionary from microevolutionary events.

    Conclusions:

    • The network structure of ecological communities near instability is a primary driver of complexity.
    • This perspective may fundamentally alter our understanding of biosphere complexity.
    • The research provides new insights into the separation of macroevolutionary and microevolutionary scales.

    Related Experiment Videos