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Theory of oscillations may explain biological mysteries
December 04, 2006The theory of coupled oscillators may shed light on problematic ecological questions, such as the number and types of species in an ecosystem
New mathematical studies of the interactions between oscillating biological populations may shed light on some of the toughest questions in ecology, including the number and types of species in an ecosystem, according to an article in the December 2006 issue of BioScience. The article, by John Vandermeer of the University of Michigan, shows how extensions of established theory suggest that many animal and plant populations oscillate in synchrony because of interactions such as predation and competition. Such synchronization can have far-reaching effects. Vandermeer suggests that several well-known biological conundrums, such as the higher-than-expected diversity of plankton in aquatic ecosystems, may be explained this way.
Physicists know that even a weak coupling between oscillating systems can yield synchronized oscillations, a phenomenon that was studied with pendulums by the seventeenth century Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens. Biologists have only in recent years started to explore the implications for their subject. But it is already clear that coupled oscillating biological populations can give rise to potentially important effects such as "synchronized chaos": the interaction between two weakly competing consumers of a food resource can be transformed by the arrival of a third competitor to provide unpredictable opportunities for the newcomer to invade. Vandermeer holds out hopes that the study of oscillations in biological populations will lead to insights into complex systems, such as those that include animals that eat other predators as well as omnivores that eat both predators and those predators' prey.
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Ecosystem Current Events and Ecosystem News RSSTEEB report released on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity for policy makers
Policy makers who factor the planet's multi-trillion dollar ecosystem services into their national and international investment strategies are likely to see far higher rates of return and stronger economic growth in the 21st century.
Earth's early ocean cooled more than a billion years earlier than thought: Stanford study
The scalding-hot sea that supposedly covered the early Earth may in fact never have existed, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in 3.4 billion-year-old ocean floor rocks.
DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.
Ants are friendly to some trees, but not others
Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.
North Atlantic Fish Populations Shifting as Ocean Temperatures Warm
About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from U.S. waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study by NOAA researchers.
Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection
Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity?
Expert to Discuss Phosphorus' Impact on Gulf 'Dead Zone'
Phosphorus is an essential element in production agriculture, however fertilizer runoff and wastewater discharge have led to massive eutrophication problems in water bodies worldwide.
World interest in Australian fishery impact test
An Australian method for assessing the environmental impact of marine fisheries has caught the eye of fishery management agencies worldwide.
Arctic Sediments Show That 20th Century Warming Is Unlike Natural Variation
The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to evidence in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper published today.
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