Dr. Karen Abbott | Abbott Lab

Bio:
Dr. Karen Abbott is a theoretical ecologist in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University.  Her research spans a range of topics, with an emphasis on general principles that underly many ecological mechanisms and systems.  She received her BS in biology and mathematics at Vanderbilt University, and a PhD in Ecology & Evolution from the University of Chicago.

Abstract:
Rate dependent tipping occurs when external conditions change too quickly for the ecological dynamics to track.  Long transients occur when ecological dynamics are slow to equilibrate.  In both cases, the root cause is that ecological systems don’t respond instantaneously to changes.  To what extent are transients and rate dependence different sides of the same coin?  And, can classical theoretical ecology, with its strong focus on equilibria, be at all helpful for understanding these phenomena?  In this talk, I will discuss how our understanding of equilibria helps us understand transients, and how I think our understanding of transients may be a fruitful approach to understanding rate-dependent tipping.