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Adaptive Strategies at the Ecosystem Level: Examples from Two Benthic Marine Systems
Author(s) -
Ott Jörg A.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1981.tb00268.x
Subject(s) - trophic level , ecosystem , detritus , food chain , benthic zone , biomass (ecology) , interspecific competition , food web , marine ecosystem , environmental science , ecology , biology
. Adaptive strategies on the ecosystem level are demonstrated using the properties of systems (community biomass, trophic level energy transfer). Development of stabilizing storages versus rapid turnover and energy transfer through the grazing food chain versus detritus food chain are shown to be adaptive processes leading towards an optimal performance of the system. A model of incorporation and processing of information in ecosystems is proposed which contains the essential features of evolution. The persistence of “interspecific altruism” is discussed.