The goal of this project was to develop a method that identifies the key elements of a complexly interacting system. In particular, we aimed at an understanding of the sometimes devasting effects, following the invasion of an ecosystem by a new species.
The developed analytical method predicts the effects of perturbations using the framework of generalized models. Further it allows to analytically identify the most important parts in a system when making a prediction, i.e. those parts that are the most sensitive to perturbations elsewhere or the most influential when perturbed. These results are especially useful when gathering data. Focussing on these important species makes data gathering processes for a prediction much more effective, allowing thereby good predictions for much more complex systems than what was priorly possible.
The method developed in this project can furthermore be used to identify parts of a network, that are especially vulnerable to perturbations. This knowledge can therefore be used to identify parts of a system that require protection from perturbations to maintain a functional system.