A Brief Look at Systems in General

The theory of dynamical systems originated in the engineering sciences as a way of describing and designing complex mechanical and electronic systems. It has since found increasing use by military, economic, and industrial strategists, as well as biologists, as a way of gaining insight into the structure and function of complex systems. In this first chapter we outline some of the elementary concepts and principles of dynamic systems theory as a prelude to our investigation of population systems. We have tried to avoid engineering jargon as much as possible and have freely modified some of the more rigorous concepts to suit the particular needs of population ecology, hopefully without losing the original intent. Our aim is to use the theory to gain a better understanding of population ecology and management and, thus, we have glossed over or ignored much of the formality and detail (references to more technical treatments are given in Note 1.1 at the end of this chapter).