Coexistence, Equilibrium, and Nutrient Sharing Among Phytoplankton Species of the Gulf of Maine

Observations at near surface levels in the Gulf of Maine in September of 1966 show that phytoplankton species coexist in equilibrium with any losses through sinking balanced by growth through sharing nutrient. This hypothetical equilibrium is justified, and brought clearly into focus, by observation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American naturalist 1977-09, Vol.111 (981), p.967-980
Main Author: Hulburt, Edward M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diatoms
Falsity
Gulfs
Nitrates
Nitrogen
Paradoxes
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Research design
Thermoclines
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Summary:Observations at near surface levels in the Gulf of Maine in September of 1966 show that phytoplankton species coexist in equilibrium with any losses through sinking balanced by growth through sharing nutrient. This hypothetical equilibrium is justified, and brought clearly into focus, by observations at deeper levels, where just the opposite occurs: lack of equilibrium and lack of balance between cell loss and nutrient gain. Comparison of observation and a mathematical model makes clear an unbridgeable distinction. What you can know so clearly from the model, that under equilibrium conditions coexisting species are prevented from not existing, you can never know from observing. All you can know is that they exist, when you observe. Moreover, it would be wrong to say that the species that are not observed in September do not exist or are excluded, when these species always dominate in spring. For such species are potentially present when they are not actually present, in September. Otherwise there would be no continuity of these species.
ISSN:0003-0147
1537-5323
DOI:10.1086/283226