Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Bistability and the future of barrier islands

Nature Climate Change volume 6, pages 5–6 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

To the Editor —

Writing in Nature Climate Change, Dúran Vinent and Moore1 suggest that barrier islands are intrinsically bistable, existing in one of two equilibrium states, and that the state can be used to predict island response to climate change. Bistability exists when any system can exist in two distinct states of equilibrium2. Applied to barrier islands, Dúran Vinent and Moore claim that extrinsic variable changes (that is, reduced sediment supply) alter system parameters (dune-building) and can push entire islands across a threshold from one equilibrium state to an alternate equilibrium state, from high to low, for example. This results in fundamental changes to system properties and affects island resilience. However, barrier islands do not function within a dichotomous framework of bistability where 'low' islands are simply an alternate equilibrium state.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Images of Hog Island showing that both states exist within a single island.

References

  1. Dúran Vinent, O. & Moore, L. J. Nature Clim. Change 5, 158–162 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Beisner, B. E., Haydon, D. T. & Cuddington, K. Front. Ecol. Environ. 1, 376–382 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hayden, B. P., Santos, M. C. F. V., Shao, G. & Kochel, R. C. Geomorphology 13, 283–300 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Young, D. R. et al. Ecosystems 10, 854–863 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Brantley, S. T. et al. PLoS ONE 9, e104747 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hayden, B. P., Dueser, R. D., Callahan, J. T. & Shugart, H. H. Bioscience 41, 310–318 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zinnert, J. C., Shiflett, S. A., Vick, J. K. & Young, D. R. Geocarto Int. 26, 595–612 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Clovis, J. F. Castanea 33, 115–121 (1968).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bachmann, C. M. et al. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 40, 2313–2330 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Stallins, J. A. Ecol. Complex. 2, 410–430 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 West Cary Street, Richmond, 23284, Virginia, USA

    Julie C Zinnert & Donald R Young

  2. Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, 39870, Georgia, USA

    Steven T Brantley

Authors
  1. Julie C Zinnert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Steven T Brantley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Donald R Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie C Zinnert.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zinnert, J., Brantley, S. & Young, D. Bistability and the future of barrier islands. Nature Clim Change 6, 5–6 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2802

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2802

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing