The themed article set (TS) “Science in support of a nonlinear non-equilibrium world” reflects the challenge presented by the increasing potential for complex non-linear behaviour in marine ecosystems, many of which are undergoing dramatic changes due to anthropogenic perturbations. Marine ecosystems are complex adaptive systems, yet management strategies are often guided by a linear, stable perspective that excludes non-linearities and the possibility for evolution and adaptation. Rapidly increasing amounts of observational data, the interdisciplinary development of powerful mathematical approaches from complexity theory, and the evolving complex adaptive systems approach that includes human behaviour promise to substantially advance the development of management strategies. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to a TS that would take up these issues. In this introduction, I focus on three important areas—causality, prediction, and emergence—where a “non-linear” perspective can advance our understanding and better support sustainable management of ecosystems. I briefly present the nine contributions that are included in the themed set and suggest some ways forward. We hope that these articles serve to convince managers and marine scientists of the benefits of incorporating approaches and results from research on non-linear dynamics.

中文翻译：

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缩小因果关系，预测，出现和应用海洋管理之间的差距

主题文章集（TS）“支持非线性非平衡世界的科学”反映了海洋生态系统中复杂非线性行为的潜力日益增加所带来的挑战，其中许多人为因人为干扰而正在发生巨大变化。海洋生态系统是复杂的适应系统，但是管理策略通常以线性，稳定的观点为指导，该观点排除了非线性以及进化和适应的可能性。快速增长的观测数据，来自复杂性理论的强大数学方法的跨学科开发以及包括人类行为在内的不断发展的复杂自适应系统方法有望大大推动管理策略的发展。由于这些原因，ICES海洋科学期刊已请求为解决这些问题的TS做出贡献。在本简介中，我重点介绍了因果关系，预测和出现三个重要方面，其中“非线性”观点可以增进我们的理解并更好地支持生态系统的可持续管理。我简要介绍了主题集中包含的九种贡献，并提出了一些前进的方法。我们希望这些文章能够说服管理人员和海洋科学家将非线性动力学研究的方法和结果纳入其中的好处。