Ecosystems are networks so intricate that their survival or collapse is extremely difficult to predict. However, by mapping the lifespans and studying the resilience of different ecosystems around the world, network scientists at Northeastern University are working to create a common mathematical framework that could anticipate – and help us prevent – the collapse of at-risk ecosystems like commercial fisheries. Potentially, the model could even be used to predict the spread of epidemics and assess the stability of financial networks. The full paper is available at Nature.
Video by Nature
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
Join endangered whooping cranes on their perilous migratory path over North America
6 minutes
videoEnvironmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
videoNature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
videoMeaning and the good life
Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned
11 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoEarth science and climate
Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth
3 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes