A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Interconnections Accelerate Collapse in a Socio-Ecological Metapopulation
Over-exploitation of natural resources can have profound effects on both ecosystems and their resident human populations. Simple theoretical models of the dynamics of a population of human harvesters and the abundance of a natural resource being harvested have been studied previously, but relatively few models consider the effect of metapopulation structure (i.e., a population distributed across discrete patches). Here we analyze a socio-ecological metapopulation model based on an existing single-population model used to study persistence and collapse in human populations. Resources grow logistically on each patch. Each population harvests resources on its own patch to support population growth, but can also harvest resources from other patches when their own patch resources become scarce. We show that when populations are allowed to harvest resources from other patches, the peak population size is higher, but subsequent population collapse is significantly accelerated and across a broader parameter regime. As the number of patches in the metapopulation increases, collapse is more sudden, more severe, and occurs sooner. These effects persist under scenarios of asymmetry and inequality between patches. Our model makes simplifying assumptions in order to facilitate insight and understanding of model dynamics. However, the robustness of the model prediction suggests that more sophisticated models should be developed to ascertain the impact of metapopulation structure on socio-ecological sustainability.
Interconnections Accelerate Collapse in a Socio-Ecological Metapopulation
Over-exploitation of natural resources can have profound effects on both ecosystems and their resident human populations. Simple theoretical models of the dynamics of a population of human harvesters and the abundance of a natural resource being harvested have been studied previously, but relatively few models consider the effect of metapopulation structure (i.e., a population distributed across discrete patches). Here we analyze a socio-ecological metapopulation model based on an existing single-population model used to study persistence and collapse in human populations. Resources grow logistically on each patch. Each population harvests resources on its own patch to support population growth, but can also harvest resources from other patches when their own patch resources become scarce. We show that when populations are allowed to harvest resources from other patches, the peak population size is higher, but subsequent population collapse is significantly accelerated and across a broader parameter regime. As the number of patches in the metapopulation increases, collapse is more sudden, more severe, and occurs sooner. These effects persist under scenarios of asymmetry and inequality between patches. Our model makes simplifying assumptions in order to facilitate insight and understanding of model dynamics. However, the robustness of the model prediction suggests that more sophisticated models should be developed to ascertain the impact of metapopulation structure on socio-ecological sustainability.
Interconnections Accelerate Collapse in a Socio-Ecological Metapopulation
Zachary Dockstader (author) / Chris T. Bauch (author) / Madhur Anand (author)
2019
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
Metadata by DOAJ is licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0
Integrating collapse theories to understand socio-ecological systems resilience
| DOAJ | 2020
Socio-ecological practice research
UB Braunschweig | Volume 1, issue 1 (March 2019)-
Socio-ecological practice research
TIBKAT | Volume 1, issue 1 (March 2019)-
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 1995
| Springer Verlag | 2018