The slower is faster (SIF) effect occurs when a system performs worse as its components try to do better. Thus, a moderate individual efficiency actually leads to a better systemic performance. The SIF effect takes place in a variety of phenomena. We review studies and examples of the SIF effect in pedestrian dynamics, vehicle traffic, traffic light control, logistics, public transport, social ...

One common class of ant-plant mutualism involves ants that defend from natural enemies in return for food and sometimes shelter. Studies of these interactions have played a major role in shaping our broad understanding of murualism. Their central contribution has come via their development of approaches to measuring the benefits, costs, and net outcomes of murualism, and their explicit consider...

Disease classes have hitherto been based on anatomical pathology and structural lesions belonging to an earlier ecological medical model involving classification. The diseases of ageing now coming to dominate clinical practice evolve across the clinical threshold in middle age parallel to changes occurring in the internal environment. The concept 'multiple pathology' used to describe the plural...

Modeling a complex phenomenon such as the mind presents tremendous computational complexity challenges. Modeling field theory (MFT) addresses these challenges in a non-traditional way. The main idea behind MFT is to match levels of uncertainty of the model (also, a problem or some theory) with levels of uncertainty of the evaluation criterion used to identify that model. When a model becomes mo...

In spite of overwhelming experimental evidence to the contrary, rotational grazing continues to be promoted and implemented as the only viable grazing strategy. The goals of this synthesis are to 1) reevaluate the complexity, underlying assumptions, and ecological processes of grazed ecosystems, 2) summarize plant and animal production responses to rotational and continuous grazing, 3) characte...

We study the ecological and mathematical significance of a nonlinear discrete predator–prey model that includes several types of self-limitation on the prey. The model is derived for the dynamics of two interacting populations where predators feed only on prey of a certain age. We show how the introduction of different limitation factors can account for several important phenomena that affect t...

Proteins are important players in executing the genetic program. When carrying out a particular biological function or serving as molecular building blocks for a particular cellular structure, proteins rarely act individually. Rather, biological complexity is encapsulated in the structure and dynamics of the combinatorial interactions among proteins as well as other biological molecules (such a...

The living-together of distinct organisms in a single termite nest along with the termite builder colony, is emblematic in its ecological and evolutionary significance. On top of preserving biodiversity, these interspecific and intraspecific “symbioses” provide useful examples of interindividual associations thought to underly transitions in organic evolution. Being interindividual in nature, s...

The fundamental question that is the title of this symposium elicits answers that are not just philosophical in nature, directly pertain to measurement, interpretation of empirical results, modeling, as well as the daily practice and general philosophy of the science that studies cognitive phenomena. Four different perspectives on the realist question will be provided by the speakers in this sy...

Cities and urban systems are the places most responsible for climate change, but at same time they where its effects felt most. A state-of-the-art analysis showed that Ecological–Environmental, Settlement, Infrastructure Service Systems components of cities exposed to risk phenomena. Therefore, it is important identify site-specific actions aimed enhancing ecosystem services building hierarchic...