Survival of the fittest" is a tautology, because those that are "fit" are the ones that survive, but to survive, a species must be "fit". Modern evolutionary theory avoids the problem by defining fitness as reproductive success, but the complexity of life that we see today could not have evolved based on selection that favors only reproductive ability. There is nothing inherent in reproductive success alone that could result in higher forms of life. Evolution from a Thermodynamic Perspective presents a non-circular definition of fitness and a thermodynamic definition of evolution. Fitness means maximization of power output, necessary to survive in a competitive world. Evolution is the "storage of entropy". "Entropy storage" means that solar energy, instead of dissipating as heat in the Earth, is stored in the structure of living organisms and ecosystems. Part one explains this in terms comprehensible to a scientific audience beyond biophysicists and ecosystem modelers. Part two applies thermodynamic theory in non-esoteric language to sustainability of agriculture, and to conservation of endangered species. While natural systems are stabilized by feedback, agricultural systems remain in a mode of perpetual growth, pressured by balance of trade and by a swelling population. The constraints imposed by thermodynamic laws are being increasingly felt as economic expansion destabilizes resource systems on which expansion depends.

C ontents

Part 1. Theory
To Understand Economics, Follow the Money: To Understand Ecosystems, Follow the Energy
Two Views of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
Why I Wrote this Book
Dualities Still Impede Conservation Efforts
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform of Biodiversity
Targets for Conservation
Evolving Objectives
Literature Review
Updating Ecosystem Ecology
References
What Can We Learn by Studying Ecosystems that We Can't Learn from Studying Populations?
The Predator-Prey Conundrum
The Serengeti Ecosystem
Evolution in the "Ecological Theater"
Predator-Prey Interactions Tell Only Part of the Story
Evolution in the "Thermodynamic Theater"
References
A Thermodynamic Definition of Ecosystems
Ecosystems in the 20th Century
Cycling of Strontium-90
Cesium-137 in Food Chains
Recycling of Isotopes in Norwegian Sheep
<strong>Ecological Energetics
</strong>Is it Time to Bury the Ecosystem Concept?
A Thermodynamic Definition of Life
A Thermodynamic Definition of Ecosystems
The Phase Transition between Order and Chaos
References
Thermodynamic Characteristics of Ecosystems
Equilibrium
The Equilibrium Law
Thermodynamic Equilibrium
Open Thermodynamic Systems
Ecosystems are Thermodynamically Open Non-Equilibrium Systems
Work is Performed by Non-equilibrium Systems
Advantage of a Thermodynamically Open System
4.3 Ecosystems are Entropic
4.4 Ecosystems are Cybernetic
Cybernetic Systems
Economic Systems are Cybernetic Ecosystems are Cybernetic
The Ecosystem Feedback Function
Indirect vs. Direct Feedback
Deviation Dampening and Amplifying Feedback
Set Points
Ecosystems are Autocatalytic
Ecosystems have Boundaries
Ecosystems are Hierarchical
Hierarchy in Physical Systems
Hierarchy in Ecological Systems
Common Currencies
Macro-and Micro-System Models
Why an Ecosystem Model that Includes Everything is not Possible
A Nested Marine Community
Ecosystems are Deterministic
Ecosystems are Information Rich
An Engineering Definition of Information
Information to Facilitate Exchange
High Energy Information
Low Energy Information
Information Theory
Genetic Information
Ecosystems are Non-Teleological
Criticisms of Ecosystem Models
References
Ecosystem Control: A Top-Down View
Two Ways to Look at Systems
Composing and Decomposing Trophic Webs
Decomposers in Soil Organic Matter
Decomposers in Marshes and Mangroves
Control of Systems
Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up
Top-Down Exogenous Control
Exogenous Impacts and Stability
Top-Down Endogenous Control
Endogenous Control through Nutrient Recycling
Autocatalysis
Control of Microbial Activity
Inhibition of Microbial Activity by Leaf Sclerophylly
Inhibition of Microbial Activity Chemical Defenses
Inhibition of Microbial Activity by Ecological Stoichiometry
The Synchrony Principle
The Decay Law
Direct Nutrient Cycling
The Role of Animals
Indirect Interactions
Marine Systems
Nutrient and Energy Recycling
Exogenous Control
Control in Lakes
Control in Managed Ecosystems
References
Ecosystem Control: A Bottom-Up View
Species as Arbitrageurs of Energy
Relation Between Rate of Flow and Mass in Hydraulic Systems
Relation Between Population Biomass and Rate of Energy Flow
Equilibrium
Mechanisms of Adjustment
Adjustments and Climate Change
Bird Populations
Dis-equilibrium
Population Instability vs. Ecosystem Instability
Control by Interactions: Direct vs. Indirect
Indirect Interactions
Direct Interactions
Predator - Prey
Mutualisms
Competition
Decomposition
Parasitism and Disease
Commensalism and Amensalism
Persistence of Negative Interactions
References
Ecosystem Stability
Background
A Thermodynamic Definition
Regime Shift
Metastability
Pulsed Stability
Resistance and Resilience
Species Richness and Functional Stability
Species Richness and Cultural Values
Keystone Species, and Population and Ecosystem Stability
7.5.1 Keystone Species in the Yellowstone region of Wyoming
References
8. Case Studies of Ecosystem Control and Stability
Walden
"Harmony in Nature"
Feedback Produces Nature's "Harmony"
Feedback Mechanisms
Perturbations in Amazon Rain Forests
Top-Down Control
The San Carlos Project: A Small-scale, Low Intensity, Short Duration Disturbance
8.3.2 The Jarí Project: A Large-scale, High Intensity, Long Duration Disturbance
Bottom-Up Control
The El Verde Project
The Long-Term Ecological Research Project in Puerto Rico
The Lago Guri Island Project
The Biological Dynamics of Tropical Rainforest Fragments Project
What have Case Studies Taught us about Stability of Tropical Ecosystems?
Tropical Ecosystems are Stable
Tropical Ecosystems are Unstable
Energy Flow in Tropical Savannas and Rain Forests
Insects in Tropical Ecosystems
Application of Lessons to Other Regions
Relevance to Temperate Zones
Relevance to Aquatic Ecosystems
The Experimental Lakes Project (Ecosystem Control of Species)
Lake Mendota Studies (Species Control of Ecosystems)
8.7 Case Studies as Tests of Thermodynamic Theory
References
Entropy and Maximum Power
Entropy
9.2 Entropy in a Steel Bar
Thermodynamic Equilibrium
Entropic Gradients
Capturing and Storing Entropy
Evapotranspiration and Entropy Reduction
Life is a Balance between Storing and Releasing Entropy
The Law of Maximum Entropy Production
Energy for Metabolism as well as Growth
Unassisted Entropy Capture is a Unique Characteristic of Life.-9.6Entropy Storage by Ecosystems
9.6.1 What Causes Entropy to be Stored?
 9.7 Capturing Pressure
 9.8 Entropy and Time
9.8.1 Time's Speed Regulator
Efficiency of Energy Transformations
Passage of Time for Cats
9.9The Maximum Power Principle.-9.10 Optimum Efficiencies for a Truck and its Driver.-9.11 Sustainability
References
A Thermodynamic View of Succession
10.1 The Population View
10.2 The Thermodynamic View
10.2.1 Leaf Area Index and Succession
10.2.2 Power Output as a Function of Leaf Area Index
10.2.3 What Causes Changes in Leaf Area Index?
10.2.4 Maximum Entropy Production Principle
10.2.5 Successional Ecosystems Move Further from Thermodynamic Equilibrium
10.2.6 Entropy Storage by Animals
10.3 The Strategy of Ecosystem Development
A Problem with Odum's Strategy
Why Power Output Continues to Increase
Revised Definition of Maximum Power
Costs of Ecosystem Stabilization
Transactional Costs
Succession, Power Output, and Efficiency
10.5.1 Kleiber's Law
Are Ecosystems Spendthrifts?
Interactions Between Species Facilitate Increase in Power Output
Facilitation
Tolerance
Inhibition
Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis
Nutrient Use Efficiency during Succession
Succession Following Logging vs Following Agriculture
 10.10 Thermodynamic View of Succession: Implications for Resource Management
References
Panarchy
The Universal Cycle of Systems
Panarchy
Thermodynamic Interpretation of the Sacred Rules
11.2.1 Growth and Consolidation
11.2.2 Collapse
Renewal
Sub-systems
Panarchy over 2 Billion Years of Evolution
Consolidation, Bureaucracy and System Collapse
Bureaucracy in Action (Case Studies)
Case Study: Panarchy in the Georgia Piedmont
Thermodynamic Interpretation
References
12. A Thermodynamic View of Evolution
12.1 Life - A Physicist's View
12.1.1 Life is Produced by Capturing Entropy
12.1.2 The Origin of Life
12.2 Two Approaches to Evolution
12.2.1 The Eco-Evo-Devo View
12.2.2 The Thermodynamic View
12.2.3 Fitness
12.2.4 The "Goal" of Evolution
12.3 The Relationship between Species and Environment
12.3.1 Evolution's "Theater"
12.3.2 Is Evolution Stochastic or Deterministic?
12.4 Ecosystem Evolution
12.4.1 Succession was the Clue
12.4.2 Ecosystems Moved away from Equilibrium
12.4.3 Thermodynamic Mechanisms
 12.4.4 Biological Mechanisms
12.4.5 Ecosystem Fitness
12.4.6 Ecosystems Evolve One Step at a Time
12.5. The Origin of Ecosystems  
12.5.1 Origin of Feedback Loops
12.5.2 Origin of Trophic Levels
12.5.3 Why are there Trophic Levels?
12.6 The "Goal" of Ecosystem Evolution
12.6.1 Conflicting Goals?
12.6.2 "Motivations" of Species
12.6.3 The Earth Ecosystem
12.6.4 Why is there Resistance to the Idea of Ecosystem Evolution?
12.6.5 Evolution of Economic Systems
12.7 A Thermodynamic Model of Ecosystem Evolution
12.7.1 Network Models
12.7.2 Increase in Complexity of Trophic Webs
12.7.3 Evolution of Trophic Webs
12.7.4 Life Moves Ashore
12.8 Biodiversity and the Five Great Extinctions
12.8.1 The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Boundary Extinction
12.8.2The Amazing Sustainability of Trophic Chains
12.8.3 A Test of Thermodynamic Theory
12.9 Panarchy and Evolution
 12.10 Thermodynamic Requirements for Living Systems on Other Planets
References
.-Why is Species Diversity Higher in the Tropics?
13.1 Tropical Explorations
13.2 A Few Theories
13.3 A Thermodynamic Explanation
13.3.1 The Latitudinal Energy Gradient
13.3.2 The Latitudinal Productivity Gradient
13.3.3 The Data
13.3.4 Other Factors Affecting Productivity
13.4 Empirical Evidence for a High Productivity High Diversity Correlation
13.5 Humboldt's Enigma
13.5.1 Are Productivity and Species Richness Correlated on Tropical
Mountains?
13.6 The Mechanism Linking Productivity and Diversity
13.7 Answer to "Why is Species Diversity Higher in the Tropics?"
13.7.1 Differences within the Tropics
13.8 Why is Species Diversity Low at High Latitudes?
13.9 An Economic Perspective on Diversity
13.9.1 Energy Flow, Economic Growth and Professional Diversity
References
What Have We Learned by Viewing Evolution from a Thermodynamic Perspective?
14.1 What we have Learned
14.1.1 Fitness Means Maximization of Power Output
14.1.2 Feedback is Essentialfor Sustainability
14.1.3 Control of Energy Flow Occurs both Top-down and Bottom-up
14.1.4 Storage of Entropy is a Powerful Characteristic of Living Systems
14.1.5 Evolution is the Storage of Entropy
Objections to the Ecosystem Concept
15.1 Criticisms of the Ecosystem Concept
15.1.1 Ecosystems are Abstractions
15.1.2 Ecosystems are Ephemeral
15.1.3 Ecosystems are Oversimplifications
15.1.4 The Ecosystem Concept is Merely a Paradigm
15.1.5 The Ecosystem Concept is Not Based on Facts
15.2 Ecosystems are not Cybernetic
15.3 Inappropriate Machine Analogies
15.4 Objections to Ecosystem Evolution
15.4.1 No Measure of Fitness
15.4.2 Evolution has no Goals
15.4.3 The Theory Can't be Tested
15.4.4 No Mechanisms
15.4.5 Contradicts Neo-Darwinism
15.4.6 Restricted Definition
15.5 Setting up a Straw Man
15.6 Harmony in Nature?
15.7 Conservatism
References
What has Thermodynamics Taught us about Conservation?
16.1 "Habitat" is not Synonymous with "Ecosystem"
16.2 Conservation and Feedback
16.3 A Few Case Studies
16.3.1 The Serengeti
16.3.2 Black Footed Ferret
16.3.3 Golden Lion Tamarin
16.3.4 Whooping Cranes
16.3.5 Puerto Rican Parrot
16.4 Conserving Feedback Loops
16.5 The Importance of Reservoirs for Recovery of Feedback Loops
16.6 Biodiversity Hotspots
16.7 A Conservationist's Dilemma
16.8 Conservation and Feedback: A Final Word
References
Part 2. Application
Thermodynamic Laws and Agriculture
17. A Farmer's Dilemma
17.1 How Ecosystems and Economic Systems are the Same
17.2 How Ecosystems and Economic Systems are Different
17.3 Planet Earth is a Feedback System
References
18. Agricultural Problems are Systems Problems
18.1 The Morrill Land-Grant Acts
18.2 The Evolution of Agricultural Research
18.2.1 Reductionism
18.2.2 The Empirical Approach
18.2.3 The Analytical Approach
18.3 Agricultural Development Models
18.3.3 The Ratchet Effect
18.4 The Systems Approach
18.4.1 Adaptive and Deterministic Cycles
18.4.2 Business Cycles and New Paradigms
References
Instability in Economic Food Systems
19.1 Pressures for Economic Expansion
19.1.1 Political Pressures
19.1.2 Humanitarian Challenges
19.1.3 Invested Academic Interests
19.2 Instability of Economic Food Systems: External Factors
19.2.1 Booms and Busts
19.2.2 Vulnerability of Farmers
19.3 Instability of Economic Food Systems: Internal Factors
19.3.1 Source of Energy for Yield
19.4 Lack of Feedback: Case Study
19.4.1 Data
19.4.1.1Energy Inputs
19.4.1.2 Energy Returned on Energy Invested
19.5 Control in Ecological vs. Economic Systems
19.6 The Emergence of Feedback and Control
19.7 Stability of Economic Food Systems
References
20 Energy Efficiency in Agricultural Systems
20.1 Two Kinds of Energy
20.2 Early Comparisons of Energy Use Efficiency
20.3 Energy Returned on Energy Invested
20.4 EROI for Industrial Corn
20.4.1 Production Functions
20.4.2 An Energy Production Function
 20.5 Economic Considerations
20.5.1 Income
20.5.2 Costs
20.5.3 Profit
 20.6 A Farmer's Dilemma
20.7 The Maximum Power Principle and Economic Theory
References
The First Law of Thermodynamics and Genetic Engineering (There is no Free Lunch)
21.1 Source of Energy for Increased Crop Yield
21.1.1 Endosomatic Energy
21.1.2 Hybridization
21.1.3 High Yield Rice
21.2 Domestication of <i>Balsas teosinte
</i>21.2.1 Calculations
21.2.2 Mechanisms
21.3 Other Tradeoffs
21.4 The Free Lunch has already been Eaten
References
22 Top-down vs. Bottom-up Control in Resource Management Systems
22.1 Background
22.2 Experimental Site and Hypotheses
22.2.1 Methods
22.2.2 Traditional Agroforestry (Hierarchical level - the Ecosystem)
22.2.3 Organic Production (Hierarchical level - local economic community)
22.2.4 Sun Coffee Plantation (Hierarchical level - the corporate economy) 22.3 System Comparisons
22.3.1 Energy Input
23.3.2 Output
22.3.3 Results
22.4 Discussion
22.4.1 Effect of energy sources on system outputs
 22.5 Conclusions
22.5.1 Feedback and Environmental Sustainability
22.5.2 Economic sustainability
 References
23 Services of Nature in Agricultural Systems
23.1 Services of Nature
23.2 The Nutrient Recycling Service of Nature
23.2.1 Erosion Prevention
23.3 Energy in Agricultural Systems
23.3.1Embedded Energy
23.3.2 Embodied Energy
23.4 The Systems Analyzed
 23.5 Summary of Results
23.6 Discussion
23.6.1Shifting Cultivation
23.6.2. High Rates of Return on Exosomatic Inputs
23.6.3 Low Rates of Return on Exosomatic Inputs
23.6.4 Rates of Return on Endosomatic Inputs
23.6.5 Sustainability
23.6.6 Benefits and Costs of Herbicides
 References
24. Optimizing Sustainability
24.1 Two Views of Sustainability
24.2 A Compromise for Agriculture
24.2.1 Value of Services of Nature (Endosomatic Inputs)
24.2.2 Value of Exosomatic Inputs
24.2.3 Energy vs. Dollars as a Measure of Sustainability
24.3 An Economic Model for Compromise
24.4 Case Studies
24.4.1 Pest Control by Services of Nature
24.5 Trends
 References
25 Agriculture that Incorporates Services of Nature
25.1 Environmentally Benign Agriculture
25.2 Intercropping
25.3 Regenerative Agriculture
25.4 Agroforestry
25.4.1 Agroforestry in Tropical Regions
25.4.2 Agroforestry in the Temperate Zone
 25.5 Disadvantages of Agroforestry
25.6 The Governmental Perspective
References
26 Rebuilding Natural Capital: A Case Study
26.1 The Nature of Capital
26.1.1 Depletion of Natural Capital
26.2 Rebuilding Natural Capital
26.3 An Obstacle to Rebuilding Natural Capital
References
Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World?
27.1 Organic Agriculture vs. Low- Energy-Input Agriculture
27.2 Organic Agriculture vs. Conventional Agriculture
27.3 Can Agriculture Dependent on Low Energy Input Feed the World?
27.4 Yield is Notthe Problem
References
What has Thermodynamics Taught us about Sustainability?
What We Have Learned by Viewing Resource Management from a Thermodynamic Perspective?
28.1.1Services of Nature are Not Free
Valuing Nature's Services and Natural Capital
Natural Capital is not Recognized
National Capital
Energetic Value of Nature's Services
28.4 Taxes, Fees, and Reimbursements
28.5 Case Studies
28.5.1 Agriculture (The Plowman's Folly)
28.5.2 Fisheries
28.5.3 Forestry
28.5.4 Species Conservation
28.5.5 Wildlife Management
28.5.6 Flood Control
28.5.7 Landscape Management
28.5.8 Climate Change
28.6 Natural Resources and the Free Market System
References
Part 3 Conservation
Conservation of Resource Systems Means Preserving the Services of Nature
In Wilderness is the Preservation of the World
29.1 Sacred Groves
29.2 Information is Stored in Sacred Groves
29.3Wilderness as a Resource Bank for Nature's Services.<p></p><p> </p><p> </p>