title: New computer architectures as tools for ecological thought.
abstract: Recent achievements of computer science provide unrivaled power for the advancement of ecology. This power is not merely computational: parallel computers, having hierarchical organization as their architectural principle, also provide metaphors for understanding complex systems. In this sense they might play for a science of ecological complexity a role like equilibrium-based metaphors had in the development of dynamic systems ecology. Parallel computers provide this opportunity through an informational view of ecological reality and multilevel modelling paradigms. Spatial and individual-oriented models allow application and full understanding of the new metaphors in the ecological context.
authors.affiliation: Ferdinando Villa is at the Institute of Ecology, University of Parma, Viale delle Scienze, 43100 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villa