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ECO3B: Managing Conservation > W5: L21 = Systems Ecology [Systems Thinking] (Prof. Sally) > Flashcards

W5: L21 = Systems Ecology [Systems Thinking] (Prof. Sally) Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology?

A

= the interactions of organisms with one another & the environment in which they occur.

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2
Q

Different levels at which ecology is studied? (4)

A
  • Individual.
  • Population.
  • Community.
  • Ecosystem.
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3
Q

Individual?

A

= involves physiology, reproduction, development & behaviour.

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4
Q

Population?

A

= involves the habitat & resource needs of individual species, behaviour & limits.

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5
Q

Community?

A

= where populations of many species interact with one another, i.e., predators & their prey, competitors.

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6
Q

Ecosystem ecology attributes? (4)

A
  • Interdisciplinary (all disciplines interact with one another).
  • Finer levels of resolution build an understanding of the mechanisms that govern the entire Earth system.
  • Mechanistic basis for understanding processes that occur at global scales.
  • From mechanism = process to context in which the mechanism plays out = the environment.
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7
Q

Ecosystem studies attributes? (2)

A

They recognize that:

  • The biological & physical components interact.
  • It is not meaningful to separate the two (i.e., the biological & physical components).
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8
Q

Ecosystem?

A

= the biological community that occurs in some area, and the physical & chemical factors that make up its abiotic environment.

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9
Q

Egs of ecosystems? (4)

A
  • Lake.
  • Estuary.
  • Grassland.
  • Drop of water.
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10
Q

Ecosystem attributes? (3)

A
  • Boundaries of an ecosystem are not fixed in any objective way.
  • Boundaries are often chosen for practical reasons regarding the goals of the particular study.
  • It’s the theoretical that determines the boundary of an ecosystem.
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11
Q

Scales of ecosystem study? (4)

A

Typically studied at a local scale (eg, a watershed & cycling of water+nutrients through that system)

BUT the processes of that have far ranging effects (larger scale)

AND ecosystems are connected (even larger scale).

THEREFORE, “Earth system”.

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12
Q

Studying ecosystems attributes? (3)

A
  • Things to consider when studying ecosystems.
  • Dynamically linked system.
  • The emphasis on standing stock & cycling of materials provides a means to compare ecosystems.
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13
Q

How to study ecosystems/What to consider when studying ecosystems? (2)

A
  • The structure of an ecosystem.
  • The function of an ecosystem.
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14
Q

Structure of an ecosystem?

A

= involves the amount of materials (eg, C or N) & the distribution of those materials (living, decaying, inorganic).

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15
Q

Function of an ecosystem?

A

= measured by processes.

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16
Q

Egs of processes? (6)

A
  • Photosynthesis.
  • Respiration.
  • Evapotranspiration.
  • Elemental cycling.
  • Competition.
  • Facilitation.
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17
Q

In Open vs Closed systems diagram 1, identify the:

  • Structure.
  • Function.
  • Is it an open or closed system? Why?
A
  • Structure
    = Carbon, Oxygen via CO2.
  • Function
    = Evaporation, transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, erosion, etc.
  • Open/Closed system & why?
    = Closed system, because C is being cycled within the C cycle and none of it is being lost to the atmosphere.
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18
Q

In Open vs Closed systems diagram 2, identify the:

  • Structure.
  • Function.
  • Is it an open or closed system? Why?
A
  • Structure
    = solar radiation/heat, greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2).
  • Function
    = Evaporation, transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, radiation, convection, conduction.
  • Open/Closed system & why?
    = Open system, as heat is being lost in the atmosphere and space overtime.
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19
Q

System?

A

= a configuration of parts connected & joined together by a web of realtionships.

20
Q

Systems science attributes? (3)

A
  • Applied widely in many disciplines.
  • Central to the systems ecology approach through the idea of feedbacks.
  • Uses & extends concepts from thermodynamics.
21
Q

Feedbacks?

A

= relationships that either regulate or disrupt system states.

22
Q

Ecosystem feedbacks?

A

= when a change in one element generates a response which is spread through the rest of the system, that eventually returns to have an effect on first element that changed.

23
Q

Ecosystem feedbacks attributes? (3)

A
  • A system that is self-regulating.
  • “Negative” when its net effect is to dampen the initial change.
  • “Positive” when its net effect is to amplify the initial change.
24
Q

Negative feedback?

A

= promotes stability (stabilising) & does not change.

25
Q

Positive feedback?

A

= tends to destabilise (amplifying) & changes into different states.

26
Q

Systems diagrams?

A

= diagrams that provide a language for articulating our understanding of the dynamic, interconnected nature of our world.

27
Q

Goal of systems diagrams?

A

To help reveal what we understand & what we don’t understand.

28
Q

How do we achieve the goal of systems diagrams?

A

By mapping our thinking & making it explicit, we are able to test our assumptions & uncover inconsistencies that may have never been surfaced.

29
Q

Systems diagrams attribute?

A

Help us to communicate deeper insights about complex issues.

30
Q

Kinds of tools used for systems diagrams/Types of systems diagrams? (2)

A
  • Causal loop diagrams.
  • Stock and flow diagrams.
31
Q

Causal loop diagrams?

A

= use loop analysis to determine whether an combination of feedback processes result in a positive to negative overall.

32
Q

What ways can they be represented/shown? (3)

A
  • One affects the other without the other affecting the first.
  • Both factors affect each other.
  • Reinforcing loop.
33
Q

Reinforcing loop attributes? (2)

A
  • An initial increase in the starting variable led to a further increase down the line.
  • All variables are affecting each other positively (increase).
  • Lags in a system are important to understand as they might make a system unresponsive/unable to adapt/respond sometimes.
34
Q

Tips when dealing with feedbacks? (5)

A
  • Where more than one feedback pathway exists & the signs are different, the net effect can still be calculated, but this requires knowledge of the relative magnitudes of the individual effect terms.-
  • Use algeebra to determine whether it’s stabilising or not.
  • Way to manage an amplifying feedback is to add other components.
  • The initial state determines the effect of each variable on each other.
  • Use graphs as well (on the side) to get an idea of the relationship between the variables.
35
Q

Why are causal loop diagrams helpful? (3)

A
  • They help us clarify our own mental models & make our thinking clearer.
  • They help us identify common archetypes that drive systems’ behaviour.
  • They help us share our mental models & modify them with others (opens a rich dialogue).
36
Q

Archetypes?

A

= small set of system structures that produce common behavioural patterns across many different fields.

37
Q

Eg of how causal loop diagrams help in driving systems’ behaviour?

A

Tragedy of the commons.

38
Q

Tragedy of the commons?

A

Where multiple agents, behaving in the self interest, escalated actions that depleted a shared resource & led to the resource’s extinction over time.

39
Q

General guidelines when dealing with loop diagrams? (5)

A
  • Use nouns when choosing a variable name (no verbs/action phrases as loop’s arrows convey the action).
  • Use variables that represent quantities that can vary over time.
  • Whenever possible, choose the more “positive” sense of a variable name.
  • If a variable has multiple consequences, start by lumping them into one term while completing the rest of the loop.
  • If a link between two terms needs a lot of explanation to be clear, redefine the variables or insert an immediate term.
40
Q

When can positive feedbacks lead to “runaway” change? (3)

A
  • If they are sufficiently large.
  • Even if large, the effect of a positive feedback is a small increase of size of the initial perturbation.
  • If the net feedback effect is larger than the initial perturbation, the system is said to have crossed a threshold & will move under its own internal dynamics into a new stability domain.
41
Q

Tipping points attributes? (3)

A
  • Moderately-complex systems exposed to external forcing don’t change smoothy & gradually.
  • Especially where some/all of the effect links between elements are themselves non-linear, or lagged in time.
  • Instead, these systems appear to resist change/be insensitive to applied driving forces over some domain, & then change abruptly.
42
Q

Explain the “Brian Walker” on tipping points video?

A
43
Q

Stock and flow diagrams attributes?

A
  • Representation is independent on the type of ecosystem.
  • Only components that vary between ecosystems are: the amount of stock, the transfer rates & the controlling factors on these rates.
44
Q

Components of stock & flow diagrams that vary between ecosystems? (3)

A
  • The amount of the stock.
  • The transfer rates.
  • The controlling factors on these rates.
45
Q

Fluxes vs Stocks?

A
46
Q

Ecosystems summary? (4)

A
  • The interrelationships between the physical & biological environments are embodied in the concept of an ecosystem.
  • Functional systems are linked through a variety of biological, physical & chemical processes.
  • The structure of an ecosystem is measured by the amount of the materials & their distribution.
  • The function of an ecosystem is measured by processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, evapotranspiration & elemental cycling.
47
Q

By the end of this lecture/Lecture outcomes? (4)

A
  • Define an ecosystem: discuss issues of scale, structure, function, & distinguish between open & closed systems.
  • Create & analyse systems diagrams in terms of their feedbacks & behaviour.
  • Discuss the value of systems diagrams & systems thinking & the challenges of modelling complex systems.
  • Explain & give examples of tipping points with reference to concepts of feedbacks & resilience.

ECO3B: Managing Conservation (31 decks)

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