Abstract
I review here the differences between temporal variability in terrestrial and marine environments and consider how this external forcing may affect population fluctuations in the two systems. The internal dynamics and community responses are expected to differ significantly with marine populations more likely to show longer term changes between alternative community structures.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
May, R. M. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems 2nd edn (Princeton University Press, 1974).
U.S. Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program Understanding Climatic Change: A Program for Action (National Academy Press, Washington, 1975).
Wunsch, C. Evolution of Physical Oceanography (eds Warren, B. A. & Wunsch, C.) 342–374 (MIT, Cambridge, 1981).
Munk, W. H. & Cartwright, D. E. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 259, 533–581 (1966).
Chelton, D. B., Bernal, P. A. & McGowan, J. A. J. mar. Res. 40, 1095–1125 (1982).
Shackleton, N. J. & Opdyke, N. D. Quat. Res. 3, 39–55 (1973).
Fairbanks, R. G. & Matthews, R. K. Quat. Res. 10, 181–196 (1978).
Hays, J. D., Imbrie, J. & Shackleton, N. J. Science 194, 1121–1132 (1976).
Lemke, P. Tellus 29, 385–392 (1977).
Gould, S. J. & Eldredge, N. Paleobiology 3, 115–151 (1971).
Pimm, S. Food Webs (Chapman & Hall, London, 1982).
Ludwig, D., Jones, D. D. & Holling, C. S. J. anim. Ecol. 47, 315–332 (1978).
Cushing, D. H. Climate and Fisheries (Academic, London, 1982).
Soutar, A. & Isaacs, J. D. Fishery Bull. Fish Wildl. Serv. U.S. 72, 257–275 (1974).
Southward, A. J. Nature 285, 361–366 (1980).
Devold, F. Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer. 154, 98–108 (1963).
Slatkin, M. Ecology 59, 249–256 (1978).
Steele, J. H. & Henderson, E. W. Science 224, 985–987 (1984).
May, R. M. Nature 269, 471–477 (1977).
Steele, J. H. & Henderson, E. W. Am. Nat. 117, 676–691 (1981).
Holling, C. S. A. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4, 1–23 (1973).
Connell, J. H. & Sousa, W. P. Am. Nat. 121, 789–824 (1983).
Steele, J. H. The Structure of Marine Ecosystems (Harvard University Press, 1974).
Steele, J. H. Applied Biology 4, 103–140 (1979).
Steele, J. H. Oceanus 23, 3–8 (1980).
Holling, C. S. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 45, 1–60 (1965).
Hassell, M. P., Lawton, J. H. & Beddington, J. R. J. anim. Ecol. 46, 249–262 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steele, J. A comparison of terrestrial and marine ecological systems. Nature 313, 355–358 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313355a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/313355a0
This article is cited by
-
The color of environmental noise in river networks
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Effects of noise correlation and imperfect data sampling on indicators of critical slowing down
Theoretical Ecology (2022)
-
Global stability of an age-structured population model on several temporally variable patches
Journal of Mathematical Biology (2021)
-
A model of artificial biological time series generation
Journal of the Korean Physical Society (2021)
-
Macroecological laws describe variation and diversity in microbial communities
Nature Communications (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.