Minireview: The Importance of Benthic-Pelagic Coupling and the Forgotten Role of Life Cycles in Coastal Aquatic Systems

The classical models of production and plankton community dynamics in coastal waters include an important role for benthic-pelagic coupling in the form of biogeochemical cycling (the turnover of nutrients in the form of either living matter or its decomposed constituents). We think, however, that bi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Limnology and oceanography 1998-07, Vol.43 (5), p.763-768
Main Authors: Marcus, Nancy H., Boero, Ferdinando
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Coastal ecology
Cysts
Ecology
Eggs
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Larvae
Marine
Marine ecology
Plankton
Population ecology
Sea water ecosystems
Species
Synecology
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Summary:The classical models of production and plankton community dynamics in coastal waters include an important role for benthic-pelagic coupling in the form of biogeochemical cycling (the turnover of nutrients in the form of either living matter or its decomposed constituents). We think, however, that biogeochemical explanations of ecosystem functioning underrepresent the actual complexity of the studied phenomena. We suggest that models will be more complete if they incorporate life-cycle patterns of planktonic and benthic organisms. The inclusion of such biological information into an ecological context will enhance the understanding of ecological patterns of global importance. What we presently know provides compelling evidence that new research directions, ranging from sedimentology to systematics and from physiology to molecular biology, are needed.
ISSN:0024-3590
1939-5590
DOI:10.4319/lo.1998.43.5.0763