Abstract

There are natural populations that bet on stability. Others go through cycles: from a boom to just one step from extinction, then another boom and so on. Mass extinctions occur sometimes, because of an environmental crisis: A catastrophe. Just a few organisms can survive these extreme events, but beyond the bottleneck, they can find a pretty empty grassland for pasture, and can start hundreds of new species. Surviving organisms are often small and simple, while many which go through extinction are the most successful of their era. Catastrophic events, like global economic crises, are artificial but seem to have a lot in common with natural ones. What can we learn from natural crises and their effects, to better understand artificial crises?