Understanding Ecosystem Stability and Resilience Through Mathematical Modeling

This introductory chapter of the book has two main goals. First, we outline why a stronger connection between Biology and Mathematics (especially modeling) could provide new insights into current biological problems. Second, we map out the central theme of this monograph and the logical connections among the following chapters with each other. We believe that one of the central and most important issues of how society can survive in our fast-changing world is to understand and learn how biological systems are able to stay stable and resilient against many perturbations. Besides providing a “big picture,” an overview of some of the important aspects of ecosystem stability, we also present tools and approaches that make it accessible to the reader. We are taking examples mostly from our own research, make our models accessible, encourage further experimentation and involvement in this field. Ecosystems can teach us how resilient mechanisms can operate in a decentralized and dynamic way, driven by self-organization, which is achieved through several interacting feedback loops. Knowledge derived from biological systems has already inspired technology and arts. In our opinion, the same kind of bio-inspiration will soon influence politics, governance, economics, and other important aspects of human society as well.