Summary and Final Tasks

The term "tipping points" has become widely used in media, but is not necessarily widely understood. This is problematic because as we move from back-of-the-envelope to fully-quantitative analyses of disequilibrium conditions, we have the risk of applying the wrong kind of analytical approach to particular problems.

The objectives of this module were as follows:

1. Define and characterize natural systems from a thermodynamic framework.
2. Become familiar with the mathematical and graphical representation of tipping points.
3. Use concepts of tipping points to distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources.
4. Apply the concepts of minimum viable population and limited resilience intervals to ecosystem management.