Chaotic Dynamics in Ecology

Deterministic chaos — unpredictable, non-random, long-term dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions — has intrigued ecologists ever since models began to show its potential to arise in natural systems. While interest and belief in ecological chaos has fluctuated over the years, contextualizing our understanding of the phenomenon is crucial to recognizing when it may be important in today׳s rapidly changing ecosystems. In this chapter, we review what chaos looks like in ecological models, how and where chaos is detected empirically and experimentally, and why dependence on mechanisms like overcompensation limits the natural occurrence of chaos in ecology.