Predicting Collapse
▻http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/04/predicting-collapse.html?ref=hp
Now, physicists studying laboratory yeast have found a new way to tell when such a collapse is imminent. The researchers hope their warning signal can help fishery and wildlife managers act in time to save stressed populations.
The team’s work is “a really nice paper” that “could potentially lead to some new insights,” says Stephen Carpenter, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin. Madison, who has studied similar early warning signals in lakes.
The key to preventing a population collapse is spotting early signs of trouble. One recognized warning signal is that unhealthy systems often take longer than healthy ones to recover from a disturbance. Scientists call this “critical slowing down.”