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Alternative stable states in ecology
Abstract
The idea that alternative stable states may exist in communities has been a recurring theme in ecology since the late 1960s, and is now experiencing a resurgence of interest. Since the first papers on the subject appeared, two perspectives have developed to describe how communities shift from one stable state to another. One assumes a constant environment with shifts in variables such as population density, and the other anticipates changes to underlying parameters or environmental “drivers”. We review the theory behind alternative stable states and examine to what extent these perspectives are the same, and in what ways they differ. We discuss the concepts of resilience and hysteresis, and the role of stochasticity within the two formulations. In spite of differences in the two perspectives, the same type of experimental evidence is required to demonstrate the existence of alternative stable states.
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“When alternative states become stabilized, ecosystems will not recover fully without mitigation of altered feedbacks (Beisner et al. 2003, Folke et al. 2004, Suding et al. 2004).”
From WATER TABLES CONSTRAIN HEIGHT RECOVERY OF WILLOW ON YELLOWSTONE'S NORTHERN RANGE (2008) · cites this paper as Beisner et al. 2003
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Cited by
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Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. P. (2004) · Ecology and Society · doi:10.5751/es-00650-090205 · Cited by 7,821
Diversity, stability and resilience of the human gut microbiota
Lozupone, C. A., Stombaugh, J. I., Gordon, J. I., Jansson, J. K., & Knight, R. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11550 · Cited by 5,533
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David, L. A., Materna, A. C., Friedman, J., Campos-Baptista, M. I., Blackburn, M. C., Perrotta, A., Erdman, S. E., & Alm, E. J. (2014) · Genome biology · doi:10.1186/gb-2014-15-7-r89 · Cited by 950
Smith, M. D., Knapp, A. K., & Collins, S. L. (2009) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/08-1815.1 · Cited by 602
Fairman, T. A., Nitschke, C. R., & Bennett, L. T. (2016) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf15010 · Cited by 252
Metadata
- Authors
- Beisner, B., Haydon, D., & Cuddington, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Guelph (CA)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- ORCID
- Cuddington, K.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-09
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 376-382
- ISSN
- 1540-9295 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2146073476
- Cited by
- 1,385
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 61 · 2025: 72 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 80 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 99 · 2019: 107 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 72 · 2016: 84 · 2015: 66 · 2014: 68 · 2013: 74 · 2012: 57
- FWCI
- 19.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Applied Mathematics › Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Keywords
- alternative stable states, community stability, resilience, hysteresis, randomness, environmental drivers, tipping points, population density, community dynamics
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Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Alternative stable states in ecology. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1890/1540-9295(2003)001%5B0376:assie%5D2.0.co;2
- The paper
- Beisner, B., Haydon, D., & Cuddington, K. (2003). Alternative stable states in ecology. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2003)001%5B0376%3Aassie%5D2.0.co%3B2
