Sustaining Economic Exploitation of Complex Ecosystems in Computational Models of Coupled Human-Natural Networks

Understanding ecological complexity has stymied scientists for decades. Recent elucidation of the famously coined "devious strategies stability in enduring natural systems" opened up a new field computational analyses complex networks where nonlinear dynamics many interacting species can be more realistically modeled and understood. Here, we describe first extension this to include coupled human-natural systems. This elucidates sustaining extraction biomass (e.g., fish, forests, fiber) from ecosystems that account pursue multiple goals such as maximizing economic profit, employment carbon sequestration by ecosystems. Our realistic modeling helps explain why simpler "maximum sustainable yield" bioeconomic models underpinning much resource policy leads less biomass, biodiversity than predicted those simple models. Current research directions integrated social science applying artificial intelligence, cloud computing, multiplayer online games.