Geophysiological modeling: new ideas on modeling the evolution of ecosystems.
Living organisms evolve within ecological associations (from ecosystems to the biosphere) that are constituted by a biological component and a physico-chemical component. It is generally supposed that interactions such as competition and predation between the biological components of ecosystems are the main cause for the observed organization of ecosystems. We believe that in the search for a more comprehensive theory of evolution a much greater attention should be paid to the ways in which living organisms interact with the physico-chemical environment. To test our ideas, we develop a mathematical model to study the evolution of ecosystems, and we apply it to the study of hydrothermal vents. The model proposed is still a qualitative model. It tries to study, in a first approximation, the behaviours of the biological and chemical components. In the following we hope to develop and to improve it so to give a more realistic model.
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Ramsay Wright Building, 25 Harbord Street, Toronto M5S 3G5, Canada. fsantini@zoo.utoronto.ca
Paola
P
Cerrai
Alessandro
A
Cordelli
Lodovico
L
Galleni
Francesco
F
Santini
D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D008954:Models, Biological