A null model for testing thermodynamic optimization in ecological systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to test the hypothesis that ecological systems are optimized for thermodynamics by creating a null model based on mathematical analysis and constraints, demonstrated on an animal population.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, general approach for generating null models to test thermodynamic optimization hypotheses in ecological systems, filling a methodological gap.

Findings

Developed a parametrized mathematical model for testing thermodynamic optimization.

Applied the method to an age-structured animal population model.

Discussed implications for ecological theory and future research.

Abstract

Several authors have hypothesized that ecological systems are subject to thermodynamic optimization, which, if proven correct, could represent a long sought general principle of organization in ecology. Although there have been recent advances, this still remains as an unresolved topic, and ecologists lack a general method to test thermodynamic optimization hypotheses in specific systems. Here we present a general, novel approach that allows generating a null model for testing thermodynamic optimization on ecological systems. We first describe the general methodology, which is based in the analysis of a parametrized mathematical model of the system and the explicit consideration of constraints. Next we present an application example to an animal population using a general age-structured population model and physiological parameters from the literature. We finalize discussing the relevance of this work in the context of the current state of ecology, and implications for the further development of a thermodynamic ecological theory.