Why do complex ecosystems, civilizations, and economies collapse? Sometimes the collapse is due to external shocks such as large meteorite impacts, earthquakes, famines, wars, and disease. But very often there is no obvious external cause.
This paper explores the possibility that under certain circumstances complex systems naturally evolve to a state in which their internal organization becomes fragile. In such a state they are vulnerable to collapse even under small perturbations that they can normally withstand.
Using a mathematical model of an evolving complex network that shows repeated crashes and recoveries, the authors capture this "internal organizational fragility" in terms of the number of cooperative feedback loops in the underlying network, and show that systems with a higher diversity of components can be better suited for long term survival because of the existence of a greater multiplicity of sustenance pathways.
Royal Society Journal Interface
Journal of the Royal Society Interface is the Society's cross-disciplinary publication promoting research at the interface between the physical and life sciences. It offers rapidity, visibility and high-quality peer review and is ranked fifth in JCR's multidisciplinary category. The journal also incorporates Interface Focus, a peer-reviewed, themed supplement, each issue of which concentrates on a specific cross-disciplinary subject.
Journal Interface
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