PROPAGULE 1)2)5)
← Back
A reproductive element able to migrate far away from its original population or system.
L. PITELKA et al. use the term in botanical ecology (1997, p.467).
Seeds carried away by strong winds, or transported by vertebrates are classical examples.
Propagules frequently play an important role in dispersal and expansion of epidemics through new and widely scattered foci. A recent example is intercontinental AIDS propagation.
Another example is the explosive expansion of forest or bush fires by sparks or burning twigs carried away by fire storms in conflagrations.
Propagules are probably a condition, or at least a very significant factor in percolation phenomena.
Accordingly and in an extended meaning, reproductive elements of any kind as for example bacteria, books, fashions, slogans, memes, etc. can be considered propagules.
Categories
- 1) General information
- 2) Methodology or model
- 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
- 4) Human sciences
- 5) Discipline oriented
Publisher
Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).
To cite this page, please use the following information:
Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]
We thank the following partners for making the open access of this volume possible: