Complexity and thermodynamics: Towards a new ecology

This article proposes a thermodynamic paradigm for the development of ecosystems. Ecosystems are viewed as non-equilibrium structures and processes, open to material and energy flows. It is suggested that as ecosystems grow and develop, they should increase their total dissipation by developing structures and processes to assist energy degradation. Species which survive in ecosystems are those that funnel energy into their own production and reproduction and contribute to autocatalytic processes which increase the total dissipation of the ecosystem. These studies may allow for the development of measures useful to environmental management and may help the science of ecology with a much needed theoretical framework.