Ecosystems are systems where energy flows and material cycles are maintained in an apparently stable, but non-equilibrium state through a process of self-regulation. Such a definition does just apply to biological systems, it can also apply to systems that involve entirely physical processes. We discuss how four systems, each operating on very different spatial and temporal scales, each exhibit...

The potential consequences of plant-herbivore coevolution for ecosystem functioning are investigated using a simple nutrient-limited ecosystem model in which plant and herbivore traits are subject to adaptive dynamics. Although the ecological model is very simple and always reaches a stable equilibrium in the absence of evolution, coevolution can generate a great diversity of dynamical behavior...

Ecosystems are systems where energy flows and material cycles are maintained in an apparently stable, but non-equilibrium state through a process of self-regulation. Such a definition does just apply to biological systems, it can also apply to systems that involve entirely physical processes. We discuss how four systems, each operating on very different spatial and temporal scales, each exhibit...

Soil enzyme activities are the direct expression of the soil community to metabolic requirements and available nutrients. While the diversity of soil organisms is important, the capacity of soil microbial communities to maintain functional diversity of those critical soil processes through disturbance, stress or succession could ultimately be more important to ecosystem productivity and stabili...

Ecosystems are often indirectly connected through consumers with complex life cycles (CLC), in which different life stages inhabit different ecosystems. Using a structured consumer resource model that accounts for the independent effects of two resources on consumer growth and reproductive rates, we show that such indirect connections between ecosystems can result in alternative stable states c...

The development of a quantitative understanding of the interactions among physical, chemical and biological processes is critical for predicting the marine ecosystem response to climate change. This study presents results from a coupled plankton/circulation model (ROMS) developed to study factors influencing bloom dynamics on the continental shelf of southern Vancouver Island. Model results sho...

A one-dimensional coupled physical–ecosystem model identifies factors causing blooms of the coccolithophore Emilania huxleyi in the Black Sea, regularly observed during the early summer periods. The model specifically applies for a more idealized ecosystem of the interior basin, away from the coastal zone. It is represented in the form of four groups of phytoplankton (diatoms, dinoflagellates, ...

The hydrothermal vent system is a typical chemosynthetic ecosystem in which microorganisms play essential roles in the geobiochemical cycling. Although it has been well-recognized that the inorganic sulfur compounds are abundant and actively converted through chemosynthetic pathways, the sulfur budget in a hydrothermal vent is poorly characterized due to the complexity of microbial sulfur cycli...

[1] We have applied association analysis to 17 years of climate index observations and predicted net ecosystem production on land to infer short-term (monthly to yearly) teleconnections between atmosphere-ocean climate forcing and terrestrial carbon cycles. The analysis suggests that on a global level, climate indices can be significantly correlated to net ecosystem carbon fluxes over more than...

Complex variation in terrestrial biogeochemical cycles results from climatic, edaphic, biotic and human processes operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This variation cannot easily be resolved at the landscape, regional or global level without an integrated effort involving field research, modeling and remote sensing. To date, the role of remote sensing in terrestrial biogeochemica...