Nonequilibrium dynamics in conservation biology: Scales, attractors and critical points

Solé Vicente, Ricard, 1962-

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110601

Nonequilibrium dynamics in conservation biology: Scales, attractors and critical points

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Solé R. Nonequilibrium dynamics in conservation biology: Scales, attractors and critical points. Biological Conservation. 2024;294:110601. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110601

Abstract

Preserving and restoring biodiversity is becoming a great challenge as we face a world where planetary boundaries will likely be crossed over the following decades. Such challenge needs to consider multiple scales of complexity, both in space and time. A common threat in most cases is the presence of nonlinear phenomena generating shifts among alternative states. These breaking points imply a new perception of risk and different management strategies. A broad range of phenomena affect the preservation of healthy communities and constrain the ways to deal with conservation, from local features associated with habitat loss or facilitation to mesoscale or global network-level ecological complexity and the role played by extreme events. How are these scales connected? How can the emergent properties associated with ecosystem dynamics be exploited? Here a synthesis of ideas is presented, with a complex systems view of the different scales involved, the emergent phenomena separating them, and the universal properties that allow defining simple models on each scale.