Navigating the complexity of ecological stability.
Abstract
Human actions challenge nature in many ways. Ecological responses are ineluctably
complex, demanding measures that describe them succinctly. Collectively, these measures
encapsulate the overall 'stability' of the system. Many international bodies, including
the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,
broadly aspire to maintain or enhance ecological stability. Such bodies frequently
use terms pertaining to stability that lack clear definition. Consequently, we cannot
measure them and so they disconnect from a large body of theoretical and empirical
understanding. We assess the scientific and policy literature and show that this disconnect
is one consequence of an inconsistent and one-dimensional approach that ecologists
have taken to both disturbances and stability. This has led to confused communication
of the nature of stability and the level of our insight into it. Disturbances and
stability are multidimensional. Our understanding of them is not. We have a remarkably
poor understanding of the impacts on stability of the characteristics that define
many, perhaps all, of the most important elements of global change. We provide recommendations
for theoreticians, empiricists and policymakers on how to better integrate the multidimensional
nature of ecological stability into their research, policies and actions.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23543Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/ele.12648Publication Info
Donohue, Ian; Hillebrand, Helmut; Montoya, José M; Petchey, Owen L; Pimm, Stuart L;
Fowler, Mike S; ... Yang, Qiang (2016). Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. Ecology letters, 19(9). pp. 1172-1185. 10.1111/ele.12648. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23543.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Stuart L. Pimm
Doris Duke Distinguished Professor of Conservation Ecology in the Nicholas School
of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Stuart Pimm is a world leader in the study of present-day extinctions and what can
be done to prevent them. His research covers the reasons why species become extinct,
how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction and,
importantly, the management consequences of this research. Pimm received his BSc degree
from Oxford University in 1971 and his Ph.D. from New Mexico State University in 1974.
Pimm is the author of over 350 scientific papers and five books. He i

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