If populations actualise potential within relational ecological fields, then ecosystems themselves can be viewed as large-scale morphogenetic organisms: topologies of potential within which species, interactions, and environmental factors co-align to produce coherent patterns of life.
1. The ecosystem as a relational field
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Ecosystems are fields of potential, not mere collections of species.
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Species, populations, and environmental factors interact as “tissues” of the system, each actualising possibilities that align with local and systemic constraints.
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Stability and resilience emerge from coherent alignment across these scales, not from central control.
2. Interactions as morphogenetic mechanisms
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Predation, symbiosis, and competition act like morphogenetic forces, guiding alignment without dictating outcomes.
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Mutualistic relationships and resource cycles are semiotic actualisations of ecosystem potential, enabling coherence while allowing diversity.
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Ecosystem structure emerges from recursive alignment of local interactions across species and trophic levels.
3. Resilience and adaptation
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Perturbations—climate events, invasive species, or mutations—act as local cuts in the field, potentially destabilising patterns.
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Ecosystem resilience arises because the relational topology absorbs, redirects, or integrates these perturbations, stabilising emergent patterns without rigid control.
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Diversity and redundancy are morphogenetic strategies, ensuring the system can adapt while maintaining coherence.
4. Recurrence and continuity
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Ecosystem “memory” is structural: recurring patterns of interaction, nutrient cycling, and species behaviour persist because the relational field enables their actualisation.
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Recurrence does not require external recording; each generation reinstantiates patterns of coherence, just as cells or cultural rituals do.
5. Implications
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Ecosystems are living morphogenetic fields, orchestrating the actualisation of biological potential at multiple scales.
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Populations are active participants, contributing local actualisations that collectively maintain coherence.
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Evolutionary stability, adaptation, and novelty emerge as consequences of field-aligned interactions, not from deterministic rules or top-down commands.
In the next post, “Innovation and Perturbation: Evolutionary Novelty,” we will examine how mutation, recombination, and ecological shocks act as perturbations in the ecosystem-field, creating opportunities for evolutionary innovation and diversification.
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