摘要：The contributions to this special feature focus on several conceptual and operationalapplications for understanding non-linear behavior of complex systems with various ecological criteria atunique levels of organization. The organizing theme of the feature emphasizes alternative stable states orregimes and intervening thresholds that possess great relevance to ecology and natural resource management.The authors within this special feature address the conceptual models of catastrophe theory, self-organization, cross-scale interactions and time-scale calculus; develop operational definitions andprocedures for understanding the occurrence of dynamic regimes or multiple stable states and thresholds;suggest diagnostics tools for detection of states and thresholds and contribute to the development of scalinglaws; and finally, demonstrate applications that promote both greater ecological understanding andmanagement prescriptions for insect and disease outbreaks, resource island formation, and characterizationof ecological resilience. This Special Feature concludes with a synthesis of the commonalities and disparitiesof concepts and interpretations among the contributed papers to identify issues and approaches that meritfurther research emphasis
关键词：catastrophe theory; complex systems science; dynamical systems analysis; ecological;resilience; non-equilibrium ecology; self-organization; thresholds; time-scale calculus
