CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" class="no-js"> <head prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/resource/css/site-content.css?79f248ebefa43b7800a14562e5049ab4"/>   <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:400,400i,600"> <link media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/resource/css/print.css"/> <script type="text/javascript"> var siteUrlPrefix = "/complexsystems/"; </script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/modernizr-v2.7.1.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/detectizr.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/resource/img/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>  <script type='text/javascript'> var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; (function() { var gads = document.createElement('script'); gads.async = true; gads.type = 'text/javascript'; var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol; gads.src = (useSSL ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js'; var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node); })(); </script>  <script id="doubleClickSetupScript" type='text/javascript'> googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot('/75507958/PCSY_728x90_ATF', [728, 90], 'div-gpt-ad-1458247671871-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); var personalizedAds = window.plosCookieConsent && window.plosCookieConsent.hasConsented('advertising'); googletag.pubads().setRequestNonPersonalizedAds(personalizedAds ? 0 : 1); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); }); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var WombatConfig = WombatConfig || {}; WombatConfig.journalKey = "PLOSComplexSystems"; WombatConfig.journalName = "PLOS Complex Systems"; WombatConfig.figurePath = "/complexsystems/article/figure/image"; WombatConfig.figShareInstitutionString = "plos"; WombatConfig.doiResolverPrefix = "https://dx.plos.org/"; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var WombatConfig = WombatConfig || {}; WombatConfig.metrics = WombatConfig.metrics || {}; WombatConfig.metrics.referenceUrl = "http://lagotto.io/plos"; WombatConfig.metrics.googleScholarUrl = "https://scholar.google.com/scholar"; WombatConfig.metrics.googleScholarCitationUrl = WombatConfig.metrics.googleScholarUrl + "?hl=en&lr=&q="; WombatConfig.metrics.crossrefUrl = "https://www.crossref.org"; </script> <script defer="defer" src="/resource/js/defer.js?13928eb59791c3cc61cf"></script><script src="/resource/js/sync.js?13928eb59791c3cc61cf"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/fastclick/lib/fastclick.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/underscore-min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/underscore.string.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/moment.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/jquery-ui-effects.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.tooltip.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.dropdown.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.tab.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.reveal.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/foundation/foundation.slider.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/util/utils.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/components/toggle.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/components/truncate_elem.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/components/tooltip_hover.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/jquery.dotdotdot.js" type="text/javascript"></script>  <script> dataLayer = [{ 'mobileSite': 'false', 'desktopSite': 'true' }]; </script> <title>PLOS Complex Systems</title>  <script> $(document).ready(()=> { let lemurTitle = $('article > h1').text(); if (lemurTitle && lemurTitle != '') { $('title').text(lemurTitle + ' | ' + 'PLOS Complex Systems'); } }); </script> </head> <body class="static ploscomplexsystems">  <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TP26BH" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script> (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= '//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-TP26BH'); </script> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-MQQMGF" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= '//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-MQQMGF');</script>   <script type="text/javascript"> ;window.NREUM||(NREUM={});NREUM.init={distributed_tracing:{enabled:true},privacy:{cookies_enabled:true},ajax:{deny_list:["bam.nr-data.net"]}}; window.NREUM||(NREUM={}),__nr_require=function(t,e,n){function r(n){if(!e[n]){var o=e[n]={exports:{}};t[n][0].call(o.exports,function(e){var o=t[n][1][e];return r(o||e)},o,o.exports)}return e[n].exports}if("function"==typeof __nr_require)return __nr_require;for(var o=0;o<n.length;o++)r(n[o]);return r}({1:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){try{s.console&&console.log(t)}catch(e){}}var o,i=t("ee"),a=t(32),s={};try{o=localStorage.getItem("__nr_flags").split(","),console&&"function"==typeof console.log&&(s.console=!0,o.indexOf("dev")!==-1&&(s.dev=!0),o.indexOf("nr_dev")!==-1&&(s.nrDev=!0))}catch(c){}s.nrDev&&i.on("internal-error",function(t){r(t.stack)}),s.dev&&i.on("fn-err",function(t,e,n){r(n.stack)}),s.dev&&(r("NR AGENT IN DEVELOPMENT MODE"),r("flags: "+a(s,function(t,e){return t}).join(", ")))},{}],2:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n,r,s){try{l?l-=1:o(s||new UncaughtException(t,e,n),!0)}catch(f){try{i("ierr",[f,c.now(),!0])}catch(d){}}return"function"==typeof u&&u.apply(this,a(arguments))}function UncaughtException(t,e,n){this.message=t||"Uncaught error with no additional information",this.sourceURL=e,this.line=n}function o(t,e){var n=e?null:c.now();i("err",[t,n])}var i=t("handle"),a=t(33),s=t("ee"),c=t("loader"),f=t("gos"),u=window.onerror,d=!1,p="nr@seenError";if(!c.disabled){var l=0;c.features.err=!0,t(1),window.onerror=r;try{throw new Error}catch(h){"stack"in h&&(t(14),t(13),"addEventListener"in window&&t(7),c.xhrWrappable&&t(15),d=!0)}s.on("fn-start",function(t,e,n){d&&(l+=1)}),s.on("fn-err",function(t,e,n){d&&!n[p]&&(f(n,p,function(){return!0}),this.thrown=!0,o(n))}),s.on("fn-end",function(){d&&!this.thrown&&l>0&&(l-=1)}),s.on("internal-error",function(t){i("ierr",[t,c.now(),!0])})}},{}],3:[function(t,e,n){var r=t("loader");r.disabled||(r.features.ins=!0)},{}],4:[function(t,e,n){function r(){U++,L=g.hash,this[u]=y.now()}function o(){U--,g.hash!==L&&i(0,!0);var t=y.now();this[h]=~~this[h]+t-this[u],this[d]=t}function i(t,e){E.emit("newURL",[""+g,e])}function a(t,e){t.on(e,function(){this[e]=y.now()})}var s="-start",c="-end",f="-body",u="fn"+s,d="fn"+c,p="cb"+s,l="cb"+c,h="jsTime",m="fetch",v="addEventListener",w=window,g=w.location,y=t("loader");if(w[v]&&y.xhrWrappable&&!y.disabled){var x=t(11),b=t(12),E=t(9),R=t(7),O=t(14),T=t(8),P=t(15),S=t(10),M=t("ee"),N=M.get("tracer"),C=t(23);t(17),y.features.spa=!0;var L,U=0;M.on(u,r),b.on(p,r),S.on(p,r),M.on(d,o),b.on(l,o),S.on(l,o),M.buffer([u,d,"xhr-resolved"]),R.buffer([u]),O.buffer(["setTimeout"+c,"clearTimeout"+s,u]),P.buffer([u,"new-xhr","send-xhr"+s]),T.buffer([m+s,m+"-done",m+f+s,m+f+c]),E.buffer(["newURL"]),x.buffer([u]),b.buffer(["propagate",p,l,"executor-err","resolve"+s]),N.buffer([u,"no-"+u]),S.buffer(["new-jsonp","cb-start","jsonp-error","jsonp-end"]),a(T,m+s),a(T,m+"-done"),a(S,"new-jsonp"),a(S,"jsonp-end"),a(S,"cb-start"),E.on("pushState-end",i),E.on("replaceState-end",i),w[v]("hashchange",i,C(!0)),w[v]("load",i,C(!0)),w[v]("popstate",function(){i(0,U>1)},C(!0))}},{}],5:[function(t,e,n){function r(){var t=new PerformanceObserver(function(t,e){var n=t.getEntries();s(v,[n])});try{t.observe({entryTypes:["resource"]})}catch(e){}}function o(t){if(s(v,[window.performance.getEntriesByType(w)]),window.performance["c"+p])try{window.performance[h](m,o,!1)}catch(t){}else try{window.performance[h]("webkit"+m,o,!1)}catch(t){}}function i(t){}if(window.performance&&window.performance.timing&&window.performance.getEntriesByType){var a=t("ee"),s=t("handle"),c=t(14),f=t(13),u=t(6),d=t(23),p="learResourceTimings",l="addEventListener",h="removeEventListener",m="resourcetimingbufferfull",v="bstResource",w="resource",g="-start",y="-end",x="fn"+g,b="fn"+y,E="bstTimer",R="pushState",O=t("loader");if(!O.disabled){O.features.stn=!0,t(9),"addEventListener"in window&&t(7);var T=NREUM.o.EV;a.on(x,function(t,e){var n=t[0];n instanceof T&&(this.bstStart=O.now())}),a.on(b,function(t,e){var n=t[0];n instanceof T&&s("bst",[n,e,this.bstStart,O.now()])}),c.on(x,function(t,e,n){this.bstStart=O.now(),this.bstType=n}),c.on(b,function(t,e){s(E,[e,this.bstStart,O.now(),this.bstType])}),f.on(x,function(){this.bstStart=O.now()}),f.on(b,function(t,e){s(E,[e,this.bstStart,O.now(),"requestAnimationFrame"])}),a.on(R+g,function(t){this.time=O.now(),this.startPath=location.pathname+location.hash}),a.on(R+y,function(t){s("bstHist",[location.pathname+location.hash,this.startPath,this.time])}),u()?(s(v,[window.performance.getEntriesByType("resource")]),r()):l in window.performance&&(window.performance["c"+p]?window.performance[l](m,o,d(!1)):window.performance[l]("webkit"+m,o,d(!1))),document[l]("scroll",i,d(!1)),document[l]("keypress",i,d(!1)),document[l]("click",i,d(!1))}}},{}],6:[function(t,e,n){e.exports=function(){return"PerformanceObserver"in window&&"function"==typeof window.PerformanceObserver}},{}],7:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){for(var e=t;e&&!e.hasOwnProperty(u);)e=Object.getPrototypeOf(e);e&&o(e)}function o(t){s.inPlace(t,[u,d],"-",i)}function i(t,e){return t[1]}var a=t("ee").get("events"),s=t("wrap-function")(a,!0),c=t("gos"),f=XMLHttpRequest,u="addEventListener",d="removeEventListener";e.exports=a,"getPrototypeOf"in Object?(r(document),r(window),r(f.prototype)):f.prototype.hasOwnProperty(u)&&(o(window),o(f.prototype)),a.on(u+"-start",function(t,e){var n=t[1];if(null!==n&&("function"==typeof n||"object"==typeof n)){var r=c(n,"nr@wrapped",function(){function t(){if("function"==typeof n.handleEvent)return n.handleEvent.apply(n,arguments)}var e={object:t,"function":n}[typeof n];return e?s(e,"fn-",null,e.name||"anonymous"):n});this.wrapped=t[1]=r}}),a.on(d+"-start",function(t){t[1]=this.wrapped||t[1]})},{}],8:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n){var r=t[e];"function"==typeof r&&(t[e]=function(){var t=i(arguments),e={};o.emit(n+"before-start",[t],e);var a;e[m]&&e[m].dt&&(a=e[m].dt);var s=r.apply(this,t);return o.emit(n+"start",[t,a],s),s.then(function(t){return o.emit(n+"end",[null,t],s),t},function(t){throw o.emit(n+"end",[t],s),t})})}var o=t("ee").get("fetch"),i=t(33),a=t(32);e.exports=o;var s=window,c="fetch-",f=c+"body-",u=["arrayBuffer","blob","json","text","formData"],d=s.Request,p=s.Response,l=s.fetch,h="prototype",m="nr@context";d&&p&&l&&(a(u,function(t,e){r(d[h],e,f),r(p[h],e,f)}),r(s,"fetch",c),o.on(c+"end",function(t,e){var n=this;if(e){var r=e.headers.get("content-length");null!==r&&(n.rxSize=r),o.emit(c+"done",[null,e],n)}else o.emit(c+"done",[t],n)}))},{}],9:[function(t,e,n){var r=t("ee").get("history"),o=t("wrap-function")(r);e.exports=r;var i=window.history&&window.history.constructor&&window.history.constructor.prototype,a=window.history;i&&i.pushState&&i.replaceState&&(a=i),o.inPlace(a,["pushState","replaceState"],"-")},{}],10:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){function e(){f.emit("jsonp-end",[],l),t.removeEventListener("load",e,c(!1)),t.removeEventListener("error",n,c(!1))}function n(){f.emit("jsonp-error",[],l),f.emit("jsonp-end",[],l),t.removeEventListener("load",e,c(!1)),t.removeEventListener("error",n,c(!1))}var r=t&&"string"==typeof t.nodeName&&"script"===t.nodeName.toLowerCase();if(r){var o="function"==typeof t.addEventListener;if(o){var a=i(t.src);if(a){var d=s(a),p="function"==typeof d.parent[d.key];if(p){var l={};u.inPlace(d.parent,[d.key],"cb-",l),t.addEventListener("load",e,c(!1)),t.addEventListener("error",n,c(!1)),f.emit("new-jsonp",[t.src],l)}}}}}function o(){return"addEventListener"in window}function i(t){var e=t.match(d);return e?e[1]:null}function a(t,e){var n=t.match(l),r=n[1],o=n[3];return o?a(o,e[r]):e[r]}function s(t){var e=t.match(p);return e&&e.length>=3?{key:e[2],parent:a(e[1],window)}:{key:t,parent:window}}var c=t(23),f=t("ee").get("jsonp"),u=t("wrap-function")(f);if(e.exports=f,o()){var d=/[?&](?:callback|cb)=([^&#]+)/,p=/(.*)\.([^.]+)/,l=/^(\w+)(\.|$)(.*)$/,h=["appendChild","insertBefore","replaceChild"];Node&&Node.prototype&&Node.prototype.appendChild?u.inPlace(Node.prototype,h,"dom-"):(u.inPlace(HTMLElement.prototype,h,"dom-"),u.inPlace(HTMLHeadElement.prototype,h,"dom-"),u.inPlace(HTMLBodyElement.prototype,h,"dom-")),f.on("dom-start",function(t){r(t[0])})}},{}],11:[function(t,e,n){var r=t("ee").get("mutation"),o=t("wrap-function")(r),i=NREUM.o.MO;e.exports=r,i&&(window.MutationObserver=function(t){return this instanceof i?new i(o(t,"fn-")):i.apply(this,arguments)},MutationObserver.prototype=i.prototype)},{}],12:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){var e=i.context(),n=s(t,"executor-",e,null,!1),r=new f(n);return i.context(r).getCtx=function(){return e},r}var o=t("wrap-function"),i=t("ee").get("promise"),a=t("ee").getOrSetContext,s=o(i),c=t(32),f=NREUM.o.PR;e.exports=i,f&&(window.Promise=r,["all","race"].forEach(function(t){var e=f[t];f[t]=function(n){function r(t){return function(){i.emit("propagate",[null,!o],a,!1,!1),o=o||!t}}var o=!1;c(n,function(e,n){Promise.resolve(n).then(r("all"===t),r(!1))});var a=e.apply(f,arguments),s=f.resolve(a);return s}}),["resolve","reject"].forEach(function(t){var e=f[t];f[t]=function(t){var n=e.apply(f,arguments);return t!==n&&i.emit("propagate",[t,!0],n,!1,!1),n}}),f.prototype["catch"]=function(t){return this.then(null,t)},f.prototype=Object.create(f.prototype,{constructor:{value:r}}),c(Object.getOwnPropertyNames(f),function(t,e){try{r[e]=f[e]}catch(n){}}),o.wrapInPlace(f.prototype,"then",function(t){return function(){var e=this,n=o.argsToArray.apply(this,arguments),r=a(e);r.promise=e,n[0]=s(n[0],"cb-",r,null,!1),n[1]=s(n[1],"cb-",r,null,!1);var c=t.apply(this,n);return r.nextPromise=c,i.emit("propagate",[e,!0],c,!1,!1),c}}),i.on("executor-start",function(t){t[0]=s(t[0],"resolve-",this,null,!1),t[1]=s(t[1],"resolve-",this,null,!1)}),i.on("executor-err",function(t,e,n){t[1](n)}),i.on("cb-end",function(t,e,n){i.emit("propagate",[n,!0],this.nextPromise,!1,!1)}),i.on("propagate",function(t,e,n){this.getCtx&&!e||(this.getCtx=function(){if(t instanceof Promise)var e=i.context(t);return e&&e.getCtx?e.getCtx():this})}),r.toString=function(){return""+f})},{}],13:[function(t,e,n){var r=t("ee").get("raf"),o=t("wrap-function")(r),i="equestAnimationFrame";e.exports=r,o.inPlace(window,["r"+i,"mozR"+i,"webkitR"+i,"msR"+i],"raf-"),r.on("raf-start",function(t){t[0]=o(t[0],"fn-")})},{}],14:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n){t[0]=a(t[0],"fn-",null,n)}function o(t,e,n){this.method=n,this.timerDuration=isNaN(t[1])?0:+t[1],t[0]=a(t[0],"fn-",this,n)}var i=t("ee").get("timer"),a=t("wrap-function")(i),s="setTimeout",c="setInterval",f="clearTimeout",u="-start",d="-";e.exports=i,a.inPlace(window,[s,"setImmediate"],s+d),a.inPlace(window,[c],c+d),a.inPlace(window,[f,"clearImmediate"],f+d),i.on(c+u,r),i.on(s+u,o)},{}],15:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){d.inPlace(e,["onreadystatechange"],"fn-",s)}function o(){var t=this,e=u.context(t);t.readyState>3&&!e.resolved&&(e.resolved=!0,u.emit("xhr-resolved",[],t)),d.inPlace(t,y,"fn-",s)}function i(t){x.push(t),m&&(E?E.then(a):w?w(a):(R=-R,O.data=R))}function a(){for(var t=0;t<x.length;t++)r([],x[t]);x.length&&(x=[])}function s(t,e){return e}function c(t,e){for(var n in t)e[n]=t[n];return e}t(7);var f=t("ee"),u=f.get("xhr"),d=t("wrap-function")(u),p=t(23),l=NREUM.o,h=l.XHR,m=l.MO,v=l.PR,w=l.SI,g="readystatechange",y=["onload","onerror","onabort","onloadstart","onloadend","onprogress","ontimeout"],x=[];e.exports=u;var b=window.XMLHttpRequest=function(t){var e=new h(t);try{u.emit("new-xhr",[e],e),e.addEventListener(g,o,p(!1))}catch(n){try{u.emit("internal-error",[n])}catch(r){}}return e};if(c(h,b),b.prototype=h.prototype,d.inPlace(b.prototype,["open","send"],"-xhr-",s),u.on("send-xhr-start",function(t,e){r(t,e),i(e)}),u.on("open-xhr-start",r),m){var E=v&&v.resolve();if(!w&&!v){var R=1,O=document.createTextNode(R);new m(a).observe(O,{characterData:!0})}}else f.on("fn-end",function(t){t[0]&&t[0].type===g||a()})},{}],16:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){if(!s(t))return null;var e=window.NREUM;if(!e.loader_config)return null;var n=(e.loader_config.accountID||"").toString()||null,r=(e.loader_config.agentID||"").toString()||null,f=(e.loader_config.trustKey||"").toString()||null;if(!n||!r)return null;var h=l.generateSpanId(),m=l.generateTraceId(),v=Date.now(),w={spanId:h,traceId:m,timestamp:v};return(t.sameOrigin||c(t)&&p())&&(w.traceContextParentHeader=o(h,m),w.traceContextStateHeader=i(h,v,n,r,f)),(t.sameOrigin&&!u()||!t.sameOrigin&&c(t)&&d())&&(w.newrelicHeader=a(h,m,v,n,r,f)),w}function o(t,e){return"00-"+e+"-"+t+"-01"}function i(t,e,n,r,o){var i=0,a="",s=1,c="",f="";return o+"@nr="+i+"-"+s+"-"+n+"-"+r+"-"+t+"-"+a+"-"+c+"-"+f+"-"+e}function a(t,e,n,r,o,i){var a="btoa"in window&&"function"==typeof window.btoa;if(!a)return null;var s={v:[0,1],d:{ty:"Browser",ac:r,ap:o,id:t,tr:e,ti:n}};return i&&r!==i&&(s.d.tk=i),btoa(JSON.stringify(s))}function s(t){return f()&&c(t)}function c(t){var e=!1,n={};if("init"in NREUM&&"distributed_tracing"in NREUM.init&&(n=NREUM.init.distributed_tracing),t.sameOrigin)e=!0;else if(n.allowed_origins instanceof Array)for(var r=0;r<n.allowed_origins.length;r++){var o=h(n.allowed_origins[r]);if(t.hostname===o.hostname&&t.protocol===o.protocol&&t.port===o.port){e=!0;break}}return e}function f(){return"init"in NREUM&&"distributed_tracing"in NREUM.init&&!!NREUM.init.distributed_tracing.enabled}function u(){return"init"in NREUM&&"distributed_tracing"in NREUM.init&&!!NREUM.init.distributed_tracing.exclude_newrelic_header}function d(){return"init"in NREUM&&"distributed_tracing"in NREUM.init&&NREUM.init.distributed_tracing.cors_use_newrelic_header!==!1}function p(){return"init"in NREUM&&"distributed_tracing"in NREUM.init&&!!NREUM.init.distributed_tracing.cors_use_tracecontext_headers}var l=t(29),h=t(18);e.exports={generateTracePayload:r,shouldGenerateTrace:s}},{}],17:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){var e=this.params,n=this.metrics;if(!this.ended){this.ended=!0;for(var r=0;r<p;r++)t.removeEventListener(d[r],this.listener,!1);e.aborted||(n.duration=a.now()-this.startTime,this.loadCaptureCalled||4!==t.readyState?null==e.status&&(e.status=0):i(this,t),n.cbTime=this.cbTime,s("xhr",[e,n,this.startTime,this.endTime,"xhr"],this))}}function o(t,e){var n=c(e),r=t.params;r.hostname=n.hostname,r.port=n.port,r.protocol=n.protocol,r.host=n.hostname+":"+n.port,r.pathname=n.pathname,t.parsedOrigin=n,t.sameOrigin=n.sameOrigin}function i(t,e){t.params.status=e.status;var n=v(e,t.lastSize);if(n&&(t.metrics.rxSize=n),t.sameOrigin){var r=e.getResponseHeader("X-NewRelic-App-Data");r&&(t.params.cat=r.split(", ").pop())}t.loadCaptureCalled=!0}var a=t("loader");if(a.xhrWrappable&&!a.disabled){var s=t("handle"),c=t(18),f=t(16).generateTracePayload,u=t("ee"),d=["load","error","abort","timeout"],p=d.length,l=t("id"),h=t(24),m=t(22),v=t(19),w=t(23),g=NREUM.o.REQ,y=window.XMLHttpRequest;a.features.xhr=!0,t(15),t(8),u.on("new-xhr",function(t){var e=this;e.totalCbs=0,e.called=0,e.cbTime=0,e.end=r,e.ended=!1,e.xhrGuids={},e.lastSize=null,e.loadCaptureCalled=!1,e.params=this.params||{},e.metrics=this.metrics||{},t.addEventListener("load",function(n){i(e,t)},w(!1)),h&&(h>34||h<10)||t.addEventListener("progress",function(t){e.lastSize=t.loaded},w(!1))}),u.on("open-xhr-start",function(t){this.params={method:t[0]},o(this,t[1]),this.metrics={}}),u.on("open-xhr-end",function(t,e){"loader_config"in NREUM&&"xpid"in NREUM.loader_config&&this.sameOrigin&&e.setRequestHeader("X-NewRelic-ID",NREUM.loader_config.xpid);var n=f(this.parsedOrigin);if(n){var r=!1;n.newrelicHeader&&(e.setRequestHeader("newrelic",n.newrelicHeader),r=!0),n.traceContextParentHeader&&(e.setRequestHeader("traceparent",n.traceContextParentHeader),n.traceContextStateHeader&&e.setRequestHeader("tracestate",n.traceContextStateHeader),r=!0),r&&(this.dt=n)}}),u.on("send-xhr-start",function(t,e){var n=this.metrics,r=t[0],o=this;if(n&&r){var i=m(r);i&&(n.txSize=i)}this.startTime=a.now(),this.listener=function(t){try{"abort"!==t.type||o.loadCaptureCalled||(o.params.aborted=!0),("load"!==t.type||o.called===o.totalCbs&&(o.onloadCalled||"function"!=typeof e.onload))&&o.end(e)}catch(n){try{u.emit("internal-error",[n])}catch(r){}}};for(var s=0;s<p;s++)e.addEventListener(d[s],this.listener,w(!1))}),u.on("xhr-cb-time",function(t,e,n){this.cbTime+=t,e?this.onloadCalled=!0:this.called+=1,this.called!==this.totalCbs||!this.onloadCalled&&"function"==typeof n.onload||this.end(n)}),u.on("xhr-load-added",function(t,e){var n=""+l(t)+!!e;this.xhrGuids&&!this.xhrGuids[n]&&(this.xhrGuids[n]=!0,this.totalCbs+=1)}),u.on("xhr-load-removed",function(t,e){var n=""+l(t)+!!e;this.xhrGuids&&this.xhrGuids[n]&&(delete this.xhrGuids[n],this.totalCbs-=1)}),u.on("xhr-resolved",function(){this.endTime=a.now()}),u.on("addEventListener-end",function(t,e){e instanceof y&&"load"===t[0]&&u.emit("xhr-load-added",[t[1],t[2]],e)}),u.on("removeEventListener-end",function(t,e){e instanceof y&&"load"===t[0]&&u.emit("xhr-load-removed",[t[1],t[2]],e)}),u.on("fn-start",function(t,e,n){e instanceof y&&("onload"===n&&(this.onload=!0),("load"===(t[0]&&t[0].type)||this.onload)&&(this.xhrCbStart=a.now()))}),u.on("fn-end",function(t,e){this.xhrCbStart&&u.emit("xhr-cb-time",[a.now()-this.xhrCbStart,this.onload,e],e)}),u.on("fetch-before-start",function(t){function e(t,e){var n=!1;return e.newrelicHeader&&(t.set("newrelic",e.newrelicHeader),n=!0),e.traceContextParentHeader&&(t.set("traceparent",e.traceContextParentHeader),e.traceContextStateHeader&&t.set("tracestate",e.traceContextStateHeader),n=!0),n}var n,r=t[1]||{};"string"==typeof t[0]?n=t[0]:t[0]&&t[0].url?n=t[0].url:window.URL&&t[0]&&t[0]instanceof URL&&(n=t[0].href),n&&(this.parsedOrigin=c(n),this.sameOrigin=this.parsedOrigin.sameOrigin);var o=f(this.parsedOrigin);if(o&&(o.newrelicHeader||o.traceContextParentHeader))if("string"==typeof t[0]||window.URL&&t[0]&&t[0]instanceof URL){var i={};for(var a in r)i[a]=r[a];i.headers=new Headers(r.headers||{}),e(i.headers,o)&&(this.dt=o),t.length>1?t[1]=i:t.push(i)}else t[0]&&t[0].headers&&e(t[0].headers,o)&&(this.dt=o)}),u.on("fetch-start",function(t,e){this.params={},this.metrics={},this.startTime=a.now(),this.dt=e,t.length>=1&&(this.target=t[0]),t.length>=2&&(this.opts=t[1]);var n,r=this.opts||{},i=this.target;"string"==typeof i?n=i:"object"==typeof i&&i instanceof g?n=i.url:window.URL&&"object"==typeof i&&i instanceof URL&&(n=i.href),o(this,n);var s=(""+(i&&i instanceof g&&i.method||r.method||"GET")).toUpperCase();this.params.method=s,this.txSize=m(r.body)||0}),u.on("fetch-done",function(t,e){this.endTime=a.now(),this.params||(this.params={}),this.params.status=e?e.status:0;var n;"string"==typeof this.rxSize&&this.rxSize.length>0&&(n=+this.rxSize);var r={txSize:this.txSize,rxSize:n,duration:a.now()-this.startTime};s("xhr",[this.params,r,this.startTime,this.endTime,"fetch"],this)})}},{}],18:[function(t,e,n){var r={};e.exports=function(t){if(t in r)return r[t];var e=document.createElement("a"),n=window.location,o={};e.href=t,o.port=e.port;var i=e.href.split("://");!o.port&&i[1]&&(o.port=i[1].split("/")[0].split("@").pop().split(":")[1]),o.port&&"0"!==o.port||(o.port="https"===i[0]?"443":"80"),o.hostname=e.hostname||n.hostname,o.pathname=e.pathname,o.protocol=i[0],"/"!==o.pathname.charAt(0)&&(o.pathname="/"+o.pathname);var a=!e.protocol||":"===e.protocol||e.protocol===n.protocol,s=e.hostname===document.domain&&e.port===n.port;return o.sameOrigin=a&&(!e.hostname||s),"/"===o.pathname&&(r[t]=o),o}},{}],19:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){var n=t.responseType;return"json"===n&&null!==e?e:"arraybuffer"===n||"blob"===n||"json"===n?o(t.response):"text"===n||""===n||void 0===n?o(t.responseText):void 0}var o=t(22);e.exports=r},{}],20:[function(t,e,n){function r(){}function o(t,e,n,r){return function(){return u.recordSupportability("API/"+e+"/called"),i(t+e,[f.now()].concat(s(arguments)),n?null:this,r),n?void 0:this}}var i=t("handle"),a=t(32),s=t(33),c=t("ee").get("tracer"),f=t("loader"),u=t(25),d=NREUM;"undefined"==typeof window.newrelic&&(newrelic=d);var p=["setPageViewName","setCustomAttribute","setErrorHandler","finished","addToTrace","inlineHit","addRelease"],l="api-",h=l+"ixn-";a(p,function(t,e){d[e]=o(l,e,!0,"api")}),d.addPageAction=o(l,"addPageAction",!0),d.setCurrentRouteName=o(l,"routeName",!0),e.exports=newrelic,d.interaction=function(){return(new r).get()};var m=r.prototype={createTracer:function(t,e){var n={},r=this,o="function"==typeof e;return i(h+"tracer",[f.now(),t,n],r),function(){if(c.emit((o?"":"no-")+"fn-start",[f.now(),r,o],n),o)try{return e.apply(this,arguments)}catch(t){throw c.emit("fn-err",[arguments,this,t],n),t}finally{c.emit("fn-end",[f.now()],n)}}}};a("actionText,setName,setAttribute,save,ignore,onEnd,getContext,end,get".split(","),function(t,e){m[e]=o(h,e)}),newrelic.noticeError=function(t,e){"string"==typeof t&&(t=new Error(t)),u.recordSupportability("API/noticeError/called"),i("err",[t,f.now(),!1,e])}},{}],21:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){if(NREUM.init){for(var e=NREUM.init,n=t.split("."),r=0;r<n.length-1;r++)if(e=e[n[r]],"object"!=typeof e)return;return e=e[n[n.length-1]]}}e.exports={getConfiguration:r}},{}],22:[function(t,e,n){e.exports=function(t){if("string"==typeof t&&t.length)return t.length;if("object"==typeof t){if("undefined"!=typeof ArrayBuffer&&t instanceof ArrayBuffer&&t.byteLength)return t.byteLength;if("undefined"!=typeof Blob&&t instanceof Blob&&t.size)return t.size;if(!("undefined"!=typeof FormData&&t instanceof FormData))try{return JSON.stringify(t).length}catch(e){return}}}},{}],23:[function(t,e,n){var r=!1;try{var o=Object.defineProperty({},"passive",{get:function(){r=!0}});window.addEventListener("testPassive",null,o),window.removeEventListener("testPassive",null,o)}catch(i){}e.exports=function(t){return r?{passive:!0,capture:!!t}:!!t}},{}],24:[function(t,e,n){var r=0,o=navigator.userAgent.match(/Firefox[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/);o&&(r=+o[1]),e.exports=r},{}],25:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){var n=[a,t,{name:t},e];return i("storeMetric",n,null,"api"),n}function o(t,e){var n=[s,t,{name:t},e];return i("storeEventMetrics",n,null,"api"),n}var i=t("handle"),a="sm",s="cm";e.exports={constants:{SUPPORTABILITY_METRIC:a,CUSTOM_METRIC:s},recordSupportability:r,recordCustom:o}},{}],26:[function(t,e,n){function r(){return s.exists&&performance.now?Math.round(performance.now()):(i=Math.max((new Date).getTime(),i))-a}function o(){return i}var i=(new Date).getTime(),a=i,s=t(34);e.exports=r,e.exports.offset=a,e.exports.getLastTimestamp=o},{}],27:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){return!(!t||!t.protocol||"file:"===t.protocol)}e.exports=r},{}],28:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){var n=t.getEntries();n.forEach(function(t){"first-paint"===t.name?p("timing",["fp",Math.floor(t.startTime)]):"first-contentful-paint"===t.name&&p("timing",["fcp",Math.floor(t.startTime)])})}function o(t,e){var n=t.getEntries();if(n.length>0){var r=n[n.length-1];if(c&&c<r.startTime)return;p("lcp",[r])}}function i(t){t.getEntries().forEach(function(t){t.hadRecentInput||p("cls",[t])})}function a(t){if(t instanceof v&&!g){var e=Math.round(t.timeStamp),n={type:t.type};e<=l.now()?n.fid=l.now()-e:e>l.offset&&e<=Date.now()?(e-=l.offset,n.fid=l.now()-e):e=l.now(),g=!0,p("timing",["fi",e,n])}}function s(t){"hidden"===t&&(c=l.now(),p("pageHide",[c]))}if(!("init"in NREUM&&"page_view_timing"in NREUM.init&&"enabled"in NREUM.init.page_view_timing&&NREUM.init.page_view_timing.enabled===!1)){var c,f,u,d,p=t("handle"),l=t("loader"),h=t(31),m=t(23),v=NREUM.o.EV;if("PerformanceObserver"in window&&"function"==typeof window.PerformanceObserver){f=new PerformanceObserver(r);try{f.observe({entryTypes:["paint"]})}catch(w){}u=new PerformanceObserver(o);try{u.observe({entryTypes:["largest-contentful-paint"]})}catch(w){}d=new PerformanceObserver(i);try{d.observe({type:"layout-shift",buffered:!0})}catch(w){}}if("addEventListener"in document){var g=!1,y=["click","keydown","mousedown","pointerdown","touchstart"];y.forEach(function(t){document.addEventListener(t,a,m(!1))})}h(s)}},{}],29:[function(t,e,n){function r(){function t(){return e?15&e[n++]:16*Math.random()|0}var e=null,n=0,r=window.crypto||window.msCrypto;r&&r.getRandomValues&&(e=r.getRandomValues(new Uint8Array(31)));for(var o,i="xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",a="",s=0;s<i.length;s++)o=i[s],"x"===o?a+=t().toString(16):"y"===o?(o=3&t()|8,a+=o.toString(16)):a+=o;return a}function o(){return a(16)}function i(){return a(32)}function a(t){function e(){return n?15&n[r++]:16*Math.random()|0}var n=null,r=0,o=window.crypto||window.msCrypto;o&&o.getRandomValues&&Uint8Array&&(n=o.getRandomValues(new Uint8Array(31)));for(var i=[],a=0;a<t;a++)i.push(e().toString(16));return i.join("")}e.exports={generateUuid:r,generateSpanId:o,generateTraceId:i}},{}],30:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){if(!o)return!1;if(t!==o)return!1;if(!e)return!0;if(!i)return!1;for(var n=i.split("."),r=e.split("."),a=0;a<r.length;a++)if(r[a]!==n[a])return!1;return!0}var o=null,i=null,a=/Version\/(\S+)\s+Safari/;if(navigator.userAgent){var s=navigator.userAgent,c=s.match(a);c&&s.indexOf("Chrome")===-1&&s.indexOf("Chromium")===-1&&(o="Safari",i=c[1])}e.exports={agent:o,version:i,match:r}},{}],31:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){function e(){t(s&&document[s]?document[s]:document[i]?"hidden":"visible")}"addEventListener"in document&&a&&document.addEventListener(a,e,o(!1))}var o=t(23);e.exports=r;var i,a,s;"undefined"!=typeof document.hidden?(i="hidden",a="visibilitychange",s="visibilityState"):"undefined"!=typeof document.msHidden?(i="msHidden",a="msvisibilitychange"):"undefined"!=typeof document.webkitHidden&&(i="webkitHidden",a="webkitvisibilitychange",s="webkitVisibilityState")},{}],32:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){var n=[],r="",i=0;for(r in t)o.call(t,r)&&(n[i]=e(r,t[r]),i+=1);return n}var o=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;e.exports=r},{}],33:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n){e||(e=0),"undefined"==typeof n&&(n=t?t.length:0);for(var r=-1,o=n-e||0,i=Array(o<0?0:o);++r<o;)i[r]=t[e+r];return i}e.exports=r},{}],34:[function(t,e,n){e.exports={exists:"undefined"!=typeof window.performance&&window.performance.timing&&"undefined"!=typeof window.performance.timing.navigationStart}},{}],ee:[function(t,e,n){function r(){}function o(t){function e(t){return t&&t instanceof r?t:t?f(t,c,a):a()}function n(n,r,o,i,a){if(a!==!1&&(a=!0),!l.aborted||i){t&&a&&t(n,r,o);for(var s=e(o),c=m(n),f=c.length,u=0;u<f;u++)c[u].apply(s,r);var p=d[y[n]];return p&&p.push([x,n,r,s]),s}}function i(t,e){g[t]=m(t).concat(e)}function h(t,e){var n=g[t];if(n)for(var r=0;r<n.length;r++)n[r]===e&&n.splice(r,1)}function m(t){return g[t]||[]}function v(t){return p[t]=p[t]||o(n)}function w(t,e){l.aborted||u(t,function(t,n){e=e||"feature",y[n]=e,e in d||(d[e]=[])})}var g={},y={},x={on:i,addEventListener:i,removeEventListener:h,emit:n,get:v,listeners:m,context:e,buffer:w,abort:s,aborted:!1};return x}function i(t){return f(t,c,a)}function a(){return new r}function s(){(d.api||d.feature)&&(l.aborted=!0,d=l.backlog={})}var c="nr@context",f=t("gos"),u=t(32),d={},p={},l=e.exports=o();e.exports.getOrSetContext=i,l.backlog=d},{}],gos:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n){if(o.call(t,e))return t[e];var r=n();if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{return Object.defineProperty(t,e,{value:r,writable:!0,enumerable:!1}),r}catch(i){}return t[e]=r,r}var o=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;e.exports=r},{}],handle:[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e,n,r){o.buffer([t],r),o.emit(t,e,n)}var o=t("ee").get("handle");e.exports=r,r.ee=o},{}],id:[function(t,e,n){function r(t){var e=typeof t;return!t||"object"!==e&&"function"!==e?-1:t===window?0:a(t,i,function(){return o++})}var o=1,i="nr@id",a=t("gos");e.exports=r},{}],loader:[function(t,e,n){function r(){if(!P++){var t=T.info=NREUM.info,e=v.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(setTimeout(f.abort,3e4),!(t&&t.licenseKey&&t.applicationID&&e))return f.abort();c(R,function(e,n){t[e]||(t[e]=n)});var n=a();s("mark",["onload",n+T.offset],null,"api"),s("timing",["load",n]);var r=v.createElement("script");0===t.agent.indexOf("http://")||0===t.agent.indexOf("https://")?r.src=t.agent:r.src=h+"://"+t.agent,e.parentNode.insertBefore(r,e)}}function o(){"complete"===v.readyState&&i()}function i(){s("mark",["domContent",a()+T.offset],null,"api")}var a=t(26),s=t("handle"),c=t(32),f=t("ee"),u=t(30),d=t(27),p=t(21),l=t(23),h=p.getConfiguration("ssl")===!1?"http":"https",m=window,v=m.document,w="addEventListener",g="attachEvent",y=m.XMLHttpRequest,x=y&&y.prototype,b=!d(m.location);NREUM.o={ST:setTimeout,SI:m.setImmediate,CT:clearTimeout,XHR:y,REQ:m.Request,EV:m.Event,PR:m.Promise,MO:m.MutationObserver};var E=""+location,R={beacon:"bam.nr-data.net",errorBeacon:"bam.nr-data.net",agent:"js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-spa-1212.min.js"},O=y&&x&&x[w]&&!/CriOS/.test(navigator.userAgent),T=e.exports={offset:a.getLastTimestamp(),now:a,origin:E,features:{},xhrWrappable:O,userAgent:u,disabled:b};if(!b){t(20),t(28),v[w]?(v[w]("DOMContentLoaded",i,l(!1)),m[w]("load",r,l(!1))):(v[g]("onreadystatechange",o),m[g]("onload",r)),s("mark",["firstbyte",a.getLastTimestamp()],null,"api");var P=0}},{}],"wrap-function":[function(t,e,n){function r(t,e){function n(e,n,r,c,f){function nrWrapper(){var i,a,u,p;try{a=this,i=d(arguments),u="function"==typeof r?r(i,a):r||{}}catch(l){o([l,"",[i,a,c],u],t)}s(n+"start",[i,a,c],u,f);try{return p=e.apply(a,i)}catch(h){throw s(n+"err",[i,a,h],u,f),h}finally{s(n+"end",[i,a,p],u,f)}}return a(e)?e:(n||(n=""),nrWrapper[p]=e,i(e,nrWrapper,t),nrWrapper)}function r(t,e,r,o,i){r||(r="");var s,c,f,u="-"===r.charAt(0);for(f=0;f<e.length;f++)c=e[f],s=t[c],a(s)||(t[c]=n(s,u?c+r:r,o,c,i))}function s(n,r,i,a){if(!h||e){var s=h;h=!0;try{t.emit(n,r,i,e,a)}catch(c){o([c,n,r,i],t)}h=s}}return t||(t=u),n.inPlace=r,n.flag=p,n}function o(t,e){e||(e=u);try{e.emit("internal-error",t)}catch(n){}}function i(t,e,n){if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{var r=Object.keys(t);return r.forEach(function(n){Object.defineProperty(e,n,{get:function(){return t[n]},set:function(e){return t[n]=e,e}})}),e}catch(i){o([i],n)}for(var a in t)l.call(t,a)&&(e[a]=t[a]);return e}function a(t){return!(t&&t instanceof Function&&t.apply&&!t[p])}function s(t,e){var n=e(t);return n[p]=t,i(t,n,u),n}function c(t,e,n){var r=t[e];t[e]=s(r,n)}function f(){for(var t=arguments.length,e=new Array(t),n=0;n<t;++n)e[n]=arguments[n];return e}var u=t("ee"),d=t(33),p="nr@original",l=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty,h=!1;e.exports=r,e.exports.wrapFunction=s,e.exports.wrapInPlace=c,e.exports.argsToArray=f},{}]},{},["loader",2,17,5,3,4]); ;NREUM.loader_config={accountID:"804283",trustKey:"804283",agentID:"402703674",licenseKey:"cf99e8d2a3",applicationID:"402703674"} ;NREUM.info={beacon:"bam.nr-data.net",errorBeacon:"bam.nr-data.net",licenseKey:"cf99e8d2a3", // Modified this value from the generated script, to pass prod vs dev applicationID: window.location.hostname.includes('journals.plos.org') ? "402703674" : "402694889", sa:1} </script>  <header> <div id="topslot" class="head-top"> <a id="skip-to-content" tabindex="0" class="button" href="#main-content"> Skip to main content </a> <div class="center"> <div class="title">Advertisement</div>  <div class='advertisement' id='div-gpt-ad-1458247671871-0' style='width:728px; height:90px;'> <script type='text/javascript'> googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1458247671871-0'); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> <div id="user" class="nav" data-user-management-url="https://community.plos.org"> </div> <div id="pagehdr"> <nav class="nav-main"> <h1 class="logo"> <a href="/complexsystems/.">PLOS Complex Systems</a> </h1> <section class="top-bar-section"> <ul class="nav-elements"> <li class="multi-col-parent menu-section-header has-dropdown" id="publish"> Publish <div class="dropdown mega "> <ul class="multi-col" id="publish-dropdown-list"> <li class="menu-section-header " id="submissions"> <span class="menu-section-header-title"> Submissions </span> <ul class="menu-section " id="submissions-dropdown-list"> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/submission-guidelines" >Submission Guidelines</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/figures" >Figures</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/tables" >Tables</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/supporting-information" >Supporting Information</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/latex" >LaTeX</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/what-we-publish" >What We Publish</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/preprints" >Preprints</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/revising-your-manuscript" >Revising Your Manuscript</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/submit-now" >Submit Now</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-section-header " id="policies"> <span class="menu-section-header-title"> Policies </span> <ul class="menu-section " id="policies-dropdown-list"> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/best-practices-in-research-reporting" >Best Practices in Research Reporting</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/human-subjects-research" >Human Subjects Research</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/animal-research" >Animal Research</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/competing-interests" >Competing Interests</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/disclosure-of-funding-sources" >Disclosure of Funding Sources</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/licenses-and-copyright" >Licenses and Copyright</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/data-availability" >Data Availability</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/complementary-research" >Complementary Research</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/materials-software-and-code-sharing" >Materials, Software and Code Sharing</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/ethical-publishing-practice" >Ethical Publishing Practice</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/authorship" >Authorship</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/corrections-expressions-of-concern-and-retractions" >Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-section-header " id="manuscript-review-and-publication"> <span class="menu-section-header-title"> Manuscript Review and Publication </span> <ul class="menu-section " id="manuscript-review-and-publication-dropdown-list"> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/editorial-and-peer-review-process" >Editorial and Peer Review Process</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://plos.org/resources/editor-center" >Editor Center</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/reviewer-guidelines" >Guidelines for Reviewers</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/accepted-manuscripts" >Accepted Manuscripts</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/comments" >Comments</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/guidelines-for-editors" >Guidelines for Editors</a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div class="calloutcontainer"> <h3 class="callout-headline">Submit Your Manuscript</h3> <div class="action-contain"> <p class="callout-content"> <em>PLOS Complex Systems</em> publishes research of broad significance that untangles the complex systems at the heart of the world we live in. </p> <p class="button-contain"> <a class="button button-default" href="/complexsystems/s/submit-now"> Get Started </a> </p> </div>  </div> </div> </li> <li class="menu-section-header has-dropdown " id="about"> <span class="menu-section-header-title"> About </span> <ul class="menu-section dropdown " id="about-dropdown-list"> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/journal-information" >Journal Information</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/editors-in-chief" >Editors-in-Chief</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/editorial-board" >Editorial Board</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/publishing-information" >Publishing Information</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://plos.org/publication-fees" >Publication Fees</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://plos.org/press-and-media" >Press and Media</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/s/contact" >Contact</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-section-header ignore-top-bar-li-style"> <a href="/complexsystems/search?sortOrder=DATE_NEWEST_FIRST&filterStartDate=2021-10-01&filterJournals=PLOSComplexSystems&q=&resultsPerPage=60">Browse</a> </li> <script src="/resource/js/vendor/jquery.hoverIntent.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/components/menu_drop.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/resource/js/components/hover_delay.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <li id="navsearch" class="head-search"> <form name="searchForm" action="/complexsystems/search" method="get"> <fieldset> <legend>Search</legend> <label for="search">Search</label> <div class="search-contain"> <input id="search" type="text" name="q" placeholder="SEARCH" required/> <button id="headerSearchButton" type="submit" aria-label="Submit search"> <i title="Submit search" class="search-icon"></i> </button> </div> </fieldset> <input type="hidden" name="filterJournals" value="PLOSComplexSystems"/> </form> <a id="advSearch" href="/complexsystems/search"> advanced search </a> <script src="/resource/js/components/placeholder_style.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </li> </ul> </section> </nav> </div> </header> <main id="main-content"> <div class="lemur-content two-column"> <nav class="site-content-nav"> <ul class="nav-page"> <li data-anchor="loc-research-articles" name="loc-research-articles"><a href="#loc-research-articles"> Research Articles </a> <ul> <li data-anchor="loc-articles-reporting-new-methods" name="loc-articles-reporting-new-methods"><a href="#loc-articles-reporting-new-methods"> Articles reporting new methods </a></li> </ul></li> <li data-anchor="loc-commissioned-article-types" name="loc-commissioned-article-types"><a href="#loc-commissioned-article-types"> Front Matter Article Types </a> <ul> <li data-anchor="loc-formal-comments" name="loc-formal-comments"><a href="#loc-formal-comments"> Formal Comments </a></li> <li data-anchor="loc-reviews" name="loc-reviews"><a href="#loc-reviews"> Reviews </a></li> <li data-anchor="loc-opinions" name="loc-opinions"><a href="#loc-opinions"> Opinions </a></li> </ul></li> <li data-anchor="loc-editorials" name="loc-editorials"><a href="#loc-editorials"> Editorials </a></li> <li data-anchor="loc-post-publication-notices" name="loc-post-publication-notices"><a href="#loc-post-publication-notices"> Post-Publication Notices </a></li> </ul> </nav> <article> <h1>What We Publish</h1> <div data-section-id="2596"> <h2><a data-anchor-id="8353" id="loc-research-articles" name="loc-research-articles"></a>Research Articles</h2> <p>Research Articles present the results of original research that address a clearly defined research question and contribute to the body of academic knowledge.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2907"> <p><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i> publishes Research Articles in areas including, but not limited to: chaotic systems; climate dynamics; collective systems; complex systems; complexity theory; criticality; dynamical systems; economics; game theory; information spreading; language; networks and network theory; network dynamics; nonlinear systems; pattern formation; risk modeling; social networks; stochasticity; systems biology; urban systems.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2750"> <p>Research Articles typically consist of the following headings:</p> <ul> <li>Abstract</li> <li>Introduction</li> <li>Materials and Methods</li> <li>Results</li> <li>Discussion</li> <li>Conclusions</li> </ul> <p>Submitted Research Articles are evaluated against the <i>PLOS Complex Systems</i> <a data-parent-id="1" href="/complexsystems/s/journal-information#loc-criteria-for-publication">criteria for publication</a> and should also adhere to the author <a href="/complexsystems/s/submission-guidelines">submission guidelines</a>.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2668"> <h3><a data-anchor-id="8508" id="loc-articles-reporting-new-methods" name="loc-articles-reporting-new-methods"></a>Articles reporting new methods</h3> <p style="font-family: arial;"><em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> considers Research Article submissions which report new methods, software, databases and tools as the primary focus of the article. These should also adhere to the utility, availability and validation criteria in the <a data-parent-id="34" href="/complexsystems/s/submission-guidelines#loc-methods-software-databases-and-tools">guidelines for specific study types</a>.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2699"> <h2><a data-anchor-id="8511" id="loc-commissioned-article-types" name="loc-commissioned-article-types"></a>Front Matter Article Types</h2> </div> <div data-section-id="2678"> <h3><a data-anchor-id="8512" id="loc-formal-comments" name="loc-formal-comments"></a>Formal Comments</h3> <p style="font-family: arial;">Formal Comments are invited by <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> editors to promote scientific discourse about <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> articles. They provide additional perspectives or context on a publication, especially in areas of policy, societal relevance, or ongoing scientific debate.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;"><em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> may invite a Formal Comment as:</p> <ul style="font-family: arial;"> <li>A response to scientific criticism or re-analysis by authors whose work is disputed in a <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> publication.</li> <li>An article that offers an expert, broad and balanced perspective on a <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> publication, or adds context on the potential editorial, societal or policy implications of the findings.</li> </ul> <p style="font-family: arial;">Formal Comments should be concise, coherent, well-argued and of timely relevance to the field. Formal Comments undergo peer review, and the journal may also invite the authors of the article under discussion to provide a signed review or to submit a response to the Formal Comment. <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> editors do not consider unsolicited Formal Comments.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;">Formal Comments are not meant to address concerns around publication ethics. Direct ethics concerns about <em><i>PLOS Complex Systems</i></em> to the <a href="mailto:pub-ethics@plos.org?cc=complexsystems@plos.org">PLOS Publication Ethics team and cc the journal</a>.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2681"> <h3><a data-anchor-id="8458" id="loc-reviews" name="loc-reviews"></a>Reviews</h3> <p>These peer-reviewed articles are compelling narrative reviews that discuss current developments in a particular field within the journal’s scope and draw meaningful conclusions adding to knowledge in the field. They should be balanced, coherent, and representative of the literature on the topic covered. These articles should be around 4,000 words with a recommended 5 figures and a suggested limit of 100 references.</p> <p>Reviews should include:</p> <ul> <li>An introduction summarizing the topic’s background and purpose of the review.</li> <li>A conclusion succinctly outlining key points.</li> <li>Where possible, discussion of implications to the field and recommendations based on evidence presented.</li> </ul> </div> <div data-section-id="2684"> <h3><a data-anchor-id="8461" id="loc-opinions" name="loc-opinions"></a>Opinions</h3> <p>Opinion articles provide experts with a forum to comment on topical or controversial issues of broad interest. They address issues at the interface between science and policy or science and society, present a policy position aimed at influencing policy decisions, and examine and make recommendations on scientific and publishing practices. These are meant to be short, opinionated pieces. These articles should be no more than 1,000 words with a figure encouraged and a maximum of 15 references. Opinion articles are not routinely peer reviewed, but are evaluated in detail by the editors, who may decide to seek additional advice from members of the editorial board or external reviewers.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2683"> <h2><a id="loc-editorials" name="loc-editorials" data-anchor-id="8460"></a>Editorials</h2> <p>Editorials are written in-house by members of the editorial staff or by members of the Editorial Board.</p> </div> <div data-section-id="2682"> <h2><a data-anchor-id="8459" id="loc-post-publication-notices" name="loc-post-publication-notices"></a>Post-Publication Notices</h2> <p>PLOS publishes <a href="/complexsystems/s/corrections-expressions-of-concern-and-retractions">Editorial Notes, Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retraction</a> notices, as needed, to address issues that arise after a PLOS article has been published.</p> </div> </article> </div><script defer src="/resource/js/components/scroll.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script defer src="/resource/js/components/floating_nav.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script defer src="/resource/js/pages/site_content.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </main> <footer id="pageftr"> <div class="row"> <div class="block x-small"> <ul class="nav nav-secondary"> <li class="ftr-header"><a href="https://plos.org/publications/journals/">Publications</a></li> <li><a href="/plosbiology/" id="ftr-bio">PLOS Biology</a></li> <li><a href="/climate/" id="ftr-climate">PLOS Climate</a></li> <li><a href="/complexsystems/" id="ftr-complex-systems">PLOS Complex Systems</a></li> <li><a href="/ploscompbiol/" id="ftr-compbio">PLOS Computational Biology</a></li> <li><a href="/digitalhealth/" id="ftr-digitalhealth">PLOS Digital Health</a></li> <li><a href="/plosgenetics/" id="ftr-gen">PLOS Genetics</a></li> <li><a href="/globalpublichealth/" id="ftr-globalpublichealth">PLOS Global Public Health</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="block x-small"> <ul class="nav nav-secondary"> <li class="ftr-header"> </li> <li><a href="/plosmedicine/" id="ftr-med">PLOS Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/mentalhealth/" id="ftr-mental-health">PLOS Mental Health</a></li> <li><a href="/plosntds/" id="ftr-ntds">PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases</a></li> <li><a href="/plosone/" id="ftr-one">PLOS ONE</a></li> <li><a href="/plospathogens/" id="ftr-path">PLOS Pathogens</a></li> <li><a href="/sustainabilitytransformation/" id="ftr-sustainabilitytransformation">PLOS Sustainability and Transformation</a></li> <li><a href="/water/" id="ftr-water">PLOS Water</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="block xx-small"> <ul class="nav nav-tertiary"> <li> <a href="https://plos.org" id="ftr-home">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://blogs.plos.org" id="ftr-blog">Blogs</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://collections.plos.org/" id="ftr-collections">Collections</a> </li> <li> <a href="mailto:webmaster@plos.org" id="ftr-feedback">Give feedback</a> </li> <li> <a href="/complexsystems/lockss-manifest" id="ftr-lockss">LOCKSS</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="block xx-small"> <ul class="nav nav-primary"> <li><a href="https://plos.org/privacy-policy" id="ftr-privacy">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://plos.org/terms-of-use" id="ftr-terms">Terms of Use</a></li> <li><a href="https://plos.org/advertise/" id="ftr-advertise">Advertise</a></li> <li><a href="https://plos.org/media-inquiries" id="ftr-media">Media Inquiries</a></li> <li><a href="https://plos.org/contact" id="ftr-contact">Contact</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <p> <img src="/resource/img/logo-plos-footer.png" alt="PLOS" class="logo-footer"/> <span class="footer-non-profit-statement">PLOS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, #C2354500, based in San Francisco, California, US</span> </p> <div class="block"> </div> </div> <script src="/resource/js/global.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </footer> </body> </html>