On the Possibility of Physical Self-Organization of Biological and Ecological Systems

It is well known that closed systems tend to attain a stable state with the minimum degree of orderliness (maximum entropy, which is the measure of the disorder or randomness of the system). According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy increases during a spontaneous irreversible process. Therefore, the processes of spontaneous ordering (entropy decrease) are prohibited in closed systems. In contrast to closed systems, open systems exposed to flows of external energy are able to increase their orderliness. These processes are called physical self-organization. The nonequilibrium states of physical systems with stored potential energy are capable of generating intense avalanche-like ordered processes, which are induced by the systems’ tendency toward an equilibrium state. In addition to true avalanches (i.e., landslide movement of large mass of rock debris or snow) formed as a result of accumulation of gravitational energy in mountains, these processes also include cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. The power of cyclones and tornadoes is determined by the condensation energy of water vapors accumulated in the preceding processes of long-term evaporation of water. Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of the deformation strain energy stored within some limited region of the rocks of the Earth. The nonequilibrium states of some physical systems with stored potential energy are collectively known as states with self-organized criticality [1, 2]. Strict coordination of the newly formed level of orderliness with the magnitude and pattern of the external flow of energy is a typical feature of the state of physical self-organization. If a system with physical self-organization is exposed to external flows of energy, this gives rise to a rigorously defined distribution over the possible states of physical self-organization. For example, the number and size of vortices (whirlpools) in rivers with turbulent water flow are determined by the power of the water flow. Moreover, the character, probability of implementation, and specific features of the ordered states generated as a result of decay of an initial physical state with self-organized criticality are entirely determined by the character and specific features of the potential energy of the initial state. All newly appearing ordered physical states in selforganized physical systems undergo continuous decay, with the energy of their orderliness being dissipated. To conserve the ordered physical states in a given external energy flow, new ordered structures should be continuously generated in place of the decayed ones. Once the energy supply has been ceased (or the accumulated potential energy has been dissipated), the self-organized states decay. As a result, the system gradually turns into the state with the maximum disorder. In this case, the term “self-organization” is inadequate to the processes in the physical systems. Indeed, the organization of these systems is determined by the character and magnitude of external flows of energy, rather than by the processes of self-organization. The processes of physical self-organization and decay of states with self-organized criticality are described by nonlinear equations of physical kinetics [2, 3]. Many researchers believe that similar approach can be applied to the mathematical description of biological evolution and many characteristics of ecological and biological systems [4–6]. The goal of this work was to determine whether there are features of fundamental difference between organization of physical systems and biological (ecological) systems. The degree of orderliness of all physical systems in natural external flows of energy is characterized by macroscopic degrees of freedom (e.g., the number of vortices in a turbulent flow of liquid or air). Each degree of freedom is described by a discrete measurable parameter (e.g., the size of turbulent vortex, the speed of rotation, etc.). Given that the resolving power of any measurement is finite, the number of all possible values of any degree of freedom is limited. The degree of orderliness (information content) of a system is proportional to the number of the degrees of freedom of the system, the measurable characteristics of the degrees of freedom being determined uniquely. Thus, the maximum possible degree of orderliness GENERAL BIOLOGY