Balls, cups, and quasi-potentials: quantifying stability in stochastic systems.

ABSTRACT: When a system has more than one stable state, how can the stability of these states be compared? This deceptively simple question has important consequences for ecosystems, because systems with alternative stable states can undergo dramatic regime shifts. The probability, frequency, duration, and dynamics of these shifts will all depend on the relative stability of the stable states. Unfortunately, the concept of "stability" in ecology has suffered from substantial confusion and this is particularly problematic for systems where stochastic perturbations can cause shifts between coexisting alternative stable states. A useful way to visualize stable states in stochastic systems is with a ball-in-cup-diagram, in which the state of the system is represented as the position of a ball rolling on

SUBMITTER: Nolting BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4850755 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature