2002/05/29 by C. Lisa Dent, Graeme S. Cumming, Stephen R. Carpenter · 159 citations
Environmental Science · #Fish Ecology and Management Studies #Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics #Ecosystem dynamics and resilience #Ecosystem #Aquatic ecosystem #Lake ecosystem #Forcing (mathematics) #Environmental science #Ecology #Freshwater ecosystem #Alternative stable state #River ecosystem #Environmental resource management #Biology #Climatology #Geology
paper · open access · doi:10.1098/rstb.2001.0991
published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 357(1421), 635-645 (Royal Society)
openalex publication_date 2002/05/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Nonlinear models of ecosystem dynamics that incorporate positive feedbacks and multiple, internally reinforced states have considerable explanatory power. However, linear models may be adequate, particularly if ecosystem behaviour is primarily controlled by external processes. In lake ecosystems, internal (mainly biotic) processes are thought to have major impacts on system behaviour, whereas in rivers, external (mainly physical) factors have traditionally been emphasized. We consider the hypothesis that models that exhibit multiple states are useful for understanding the behaviour of lake ecosystems, but not as useful for understanding stream ecosystems. Some of the best-known examples of multiple states come from lake ecosystems. We review some of these examples, and we also describe examples of multiple states in rivers. We conclude that the hypothesis is an oversimplification; the importance of physical forcing in rivers does not eliminate the possibility of internal feedbacks that create multiple states, although in rivers these feedbacks are likely to include physical as well as biotic processes. Nonlinear behaviour in aquatic ecosystems may be more common than current theory indicates.