Episode 8: Diving Into Discontinuity Theory

One way to look at the structures and processes of a social-ecological system is through “discontinuities,” which are gaps between clusters of system components. Discontinuity theory identifies patterns at different spatial and temporal scales in a system, which can be used to match system components to the resources and the scale(s) those components are operating at, with research and management implications. We take a look at discontinuity theory through a study of animal sizes in ecosystems, which is how many of the ideas about discontinuities first arose in the scientific literature. We also examine proposed management applications for discontinuity theory. Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome Check out our educational modules: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/community/70ffd07aff59 Contact Us: whrapodcast@gmail.com Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu References: Angeler, D.G., Allen, C.R., Barichievy, C., Eason, T.,... 2016. Management applications of discontinuity theory. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53, 688-698. Cusick, D. 2021, July 20. Cities pledge more green space to combat urban heat. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cities-pledge-more-green-space-to-combat-urban-heat/ Hilden, N. 2021, Aug. 3. Future space travel might require mushrooms. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-travels-most-surprising-future-ingredient-mushrooms/ Holling, C.S. 1992. Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 62(4), 447-502. Flavelle, C. 2021, Aug. 5. Biden announces record amount of climate resilience funding. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/climate/FEMA-disaster-money-climate.html Nash, K.L., Allen, C.R., Angeler, D.G., Barichievy, C., Eason, T., Garmestani, A.S. et al. 2014. Discontinuities, cross-scale patterns and the organization of ecosystems. Ecology, 95, 654–667. Music licensed from www.purple-planet.com