Book contents
- Interactions in the Marine Benthos
- The Systematics Association Special Volume Series
- Interactions in the Marine Benthos
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 The Intertidal Zone of the North-East Atlantic Region
- Chapter 3 The Ecology of Rocky Subtidal Habitats of the North-East Atlantic
- Chapter 4 Rocky Intertidal Shores of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 5 Subtidal Rocky Shores of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 6 Shallow Water Muddy Sands of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 7 Biodiversity and Interactions on the Intertidal Rocky Shores of Argentina (South-West Atlantic)
- Chapter 8 Species Interactions and Regime Shifts in Intertidal and Subtidal Rocky Reefs of the Mediterranean Sea
- Chapter 9 The Restructuring of Levant Reefs by Aliens, Ocean Warming and Overfishing
- Chapter 10 North-East Pacific
- Chapter 11 The North-East Pacific
- Chapter 12 Consumer–Resource Interactions on an Environmental Mosaic
- Chapter 13 Where Three Oceans Meet
- Chapter 14 Rocky Shores of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong
- Chapter 15 Biogeographic Comparisons of Pattern and Process on Intertidal Rocky Reefs of New Zealand and South-Eastern Australia
- Chapter 16 The Past and Future Ecologies of Australasian Kelp Forests
- Chapter 17 Kropotkin’s Garden
- Chapter 18 Biofilms in Intertidal Habitats
- Chapter 19 Interactions in the Deep Sea
- Chapter 20 Overview and Synthesis
- Index
- Systematics Association Special Volumes
- References
Chapter 4 - Rocky Intertidal Shores of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2019
- Interactions in the Marine Benthos
- The Systematics Association Special Volume Series
- Interactions in the Marine Benthos
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 The Intertidal Zone of the North-East Atlantic Region
- Chapter 3 The Ecology of Rocky Subtidal Habitats of the North-East Atlantic
- Chapter 4 Rocky Intertidal Shores of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 5 Subtidal Rocky Shores of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 6 Shallow Water Muddy Sands of the North-West Atlantic Ocean
- Chapter 7 Biodiversity and Interactions on the Intertidal Rocky Shores of Argentina (South-West Atlantic)
- Chapter 8 Species Interactions and Regime Shifts in Intertidal and Subtidal Rocky Reefs of the Mediterranean Sea
- Chapter 9 The Restructuring of Levant Reefs by Aliens, Ocean Warming and Overfishing
- Chapter 10 North-East Pacific
- Chapter 11 The North-East Pacific
- Chapter 12 Consumer–Resource Interactions on an Environmental Mosaic
- Chapter 13 Where Three Oceans Meet
- Chapter 14 Rocky Shores of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong
- Chapter 15 Biogeographic Comparisons of Pattern and Process on Intertidal Rocky Reefs of New Zealand and South-Eastern Australia
- Chapter 16 The Past and Future Ecologies of Australasian Kelp Forests
- Chapter 17 Kropotkin’s Garden
- Chapter 18 Biofilms in Intertidal Habitats
- Chapter 19 Interactions in the Deep Sea
- Chapter 20 Overview and Synthesis
- Index
- Systematics Association Special Volumes
- References
Summary
North-west Atlantic rocky intertidal shores contain few species that are affected by sharp environmental gradients. As a result, these communities have been widely used as a model experimental system. Earlier studies focussed on how average differences in ecological processes can be driven by environmental differences. More recently, there is an emphasis on how variability in recruitment and ecological interactions can shape communities. In this chapter, we explore how these two distinctly different conceptual approaches – average effects versus variability in effects – have affected the course of ecological research. Our review touches on how phylogeographic history, large-scale variability in ecological processes and small-scale indirect interactions have contributed to the generation and maintenance of community patterns. We argue that human activities, including harvesting, introducing non-native species, eutrophication and climate change, are likely to increase the variability of ecological processes. We conclude that variability of ecological processes and human activities vary on a scale much larger or longer than a typical experiment. Future studies should explicitly incorporate scales that capture the role of variability on the resilience of coastal ecosystems.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Interactions in the Marine BenthosGlobal Patterns and Processes, pp. 61 - 89Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
References
- 3
- Cited by