We combine empirical case study resarch with dynamical systems and agent-based modeling to develop and test possible social-ecological explanations for observed SES phenomena such as regime shifts in marine ecosystems, poverty traps in bio-cultural landscapes, or cooperation and self-governance of common pool resources such as small-scale fisheries. We are particularly interested in using and combining multiple methods to study social-ecological relations, interactions between humans and non-human elements of ecosystems and social-ecological feedbacks as core processes constituting a SES and giving rise to its patterns and behaviours. We use models and modelling for exploratory or explanatory purposes and to facilitate iterative, interdisciplinary and abductive processes of developing best possible explanations for phenomena of SES change.
