Ecosystems as adaptive living circuits.

Area of Science:

• Theoretical biology
• Complex systems
• Ecology

Background:

• Biological systems adaptively control energy coupling, unlike fixed physical systems.
• Lack of theoretical frameworks hinders understanding of emergent behavior in living systems where structure and energy drive coevolve.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop a theoretical framework for adaptive systems using ecosystems as a model.
• Investigate the coevolution of structure formation and non-equilibrium drive in living systems.

Main Methods:

• Developed a framework of "living circuits" where architecture adapts to energy dissipation.
• Modeled ecosystems as adaptive systems to study energy flow and structural changes.

Main Results:

• Living circuits exhibit a phase transition from equilibrium to a non-equilibrium dissipative state at a critical driving potential.
• A feedback mechanism routes dissipation to weaker edges, enabling survival despite local rules favoring stronger ones.
• Living circuits achieve near-maximal dissipation without global optimization, with complexity increasing with energy drive.

Conclusions:

• Ecosystems serve as paradigmatic examples of living circuits.
• Local adaptive rules tune structure and dissipation in living systems.
• The developed framework provides insights into emergent behavior and self-organization in biological non-equilibrium systems.