Ecodynamics

Given the problems of the environment in relation to the ever-growing civi lization activities of man, it is not surprising that in recent years more and more related data have been collected, phenomena have been observed and concerns have been expressed. The ecological systems of man's environment react to the impact of these civilization activities. In fact, quite often these reactions occur as shocks and surprises. Acid rain and the related forest die backs are but one example. Ecological systems consist of many compo nents and their dynamics is thus complex. The study of complexity is the underlying theme for work at KFA Jiilich. A major part of this work concerns the physics of condensed matter, including polymers, spin glasses, surfaces and layers. Another part relates to micro electronics in the submicrometre range in its relation to the design of vector and parallel computers. Supercomputing characterizes this search for the understanding of complexity further. But equally the work on the chemistry of the atmosphere, radio agronomy, biotechnology and research on informa tion processing on the molecular level must also be mentioned. To make the picture complete, at KFA Jiilich work on reactor technology, fusion research and energy systems of course continues. These are complex systems too.

Texte du rabat

Theoretical ecology deals with the principles of the interaction and dynamics of ecosystems basic to the wealth of ecological phenomena. The contributions to the first international workshop on ecodynamics mainly take a deductive approach to theoretical ecology and its application to epidemiology, forest damage and fishery. The book concentrates on strategies of modeling, evolution, population dynamics, the dynamics of ecostems, mechanisms of control and nonlinearity. It presents new methods such as the statistical dynamical analysis of evolution strategies or interactive micro simulations, thus giving a comprehensive overview of current developments in theoretical ecology.

Contenu
I Evolution.- Evolution: Why the Whole is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts.- The Evolution of Spatially Inhomogeneous Populations.- Intraspecific Competition and Evolution.- Fundamental Components in Ecology and Evolution: Hierarchy, Concepts and Descriptions.- Simulated Evolution of Primitive Organisms.- Dynamics of Developmentally Constrained Populations.- Differential Evolution of Pesticide Resistance in Predators and Prey.- Collective Intelligence in Evolving Systems.- II Marine and Lake Ecodynamics.- Biological-Physical Interactions in the Sea: Marine Ecodynamics.- Understanding the Baltic Sea: Systems Ecology in Theory and Practice.- Ultimate Causes of Vertical Migration in Zooplankton: An Evaluation by Evolutionary Game Theory.- Trophy-Balanced Turnover Velocities in a Two-Species System of Competing Daphnids: A Test of the Energy Residence Time Concept.- Ecodynamic Changes in Suburban Lakes in Berlin (FRG) During the Restoration Process After Phosphate Removal.- A Comparison of Fish Size-Composition in the North Sea and on Georges Bank.- Generic Models of Continental Shelf Ecosystems.- III Ecosystems Analysis.- On Quantifying the Effects of Formal and Final Causes in Ecosystem Development.- Avoidance of Ecological Risk in Optimal Exploitation of Biological Resources.- Deterministic Modelling of the Combined Action of Light and Heat Stress on Microbial Growth.- Different Responses in Ecosystems to Environmental Stress.- An Example of Modelling in Ecotoxicology.- Spatial Simulation of Population Dynamics in the Evaluation of Foraging Theory in Complex Ecological Systems.- Models for the Management of Renewable Resources Embedded in Complex Marine Systems.- IV Forest Ecosystems.- Ecodynamics as a Function of Ecosystem Structure: Forest Dieback as anExample.- Ecosystem Theory Required to Identify Future Forest Responses to Changing CO2 and Climate.- V Modelling Approaches.- The Role of Theoretical Research in the Design of Programmes for the Control of Infectious Disease Agents.- Microinteractive Predator-Prey Simulations.- Biological Attractors, Transients, and Evolution.- Unstable Determinism in the Information Production Profile of an Epidemiological Time Series.- Random Elements in a Population Model Based on Individual Development.- Measures of Spatio-Temporal Irregularity.- Index of Contributors.