Coherent ecological dynamics induced by large-scale disturbance

Timothy H. Keitt ()
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Timothy H. Keitt: Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7202, 331-334

Abstract: Ecosystem order from disorder Understanding how ecosystems react to disturbance at the community level is an important goal in ecology. Responses vary from a situation where all species rise or fall together, to one where total biomass is constant but individual species thrive or disappear. Timothy Keitt looked at the effects of disturbance — experimental acidification of a whole lake — over a 17-year period. Surprisingly, the system became more orderly when disturbed, with planktonic communities shifting from seemingly random incoherence to strongly synchronous dynamics. Seasonality among species was a major factor in determining ecosystem response.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06935

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