Defining and studying complexity in ecosystems

There are some new projects relating to complexity studies in some UK Universities (e.g. University of Bristol, University of Warwick). Although I doubt how many enrolled in these programs would know what are complexities in complex systems (in contrast to “simple” systems such as computers). At least I don’t understand.

One interesting definition of complexity is the length of the shortest description of a series of the system’s regularities. This definition can only be used in comparisons because it is not possible to cover all classes of regularities in a system. For ecosystems there may be a defined set of regularities that can be used to describe the complexity of the system.

For the moment we cannot tell how complexity of a system is linked to its unpredictability and surprises. We only know that a complex system may have these features: emergence, surprises, chaos, and paradoxum. Some tools are being developed to get a grasp of complex systems, but the success is still limited. These tools may be only suitable for a limited range of applications.

Can we at last deal with complexity in a scientific way? Possibly we can deal with it with more certainty as science develops. But a more likely scenario is that we incorporate uncertainty and complexity into the existing science system, just like what quantum mechanics did. Ecology and sociology recognising complexity may have a complete shift in the coming decades.