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Aquatic ecology. Scale, pattern and process
148
Book Reviews/J.
ogy, and I hope it will attract important range of habitats. Erik Bonsdorff Huso Biological Station, Abe Akademi University FIN-22220 Emkarby Finland
Exp. Mar. Bid. Ed.
the interest
Department
of students
188 (1995) 145-149
and established
scientists
to this
of Biology
Aquatic Ecology. Scale, Pattern and Process, edited by P.S. Giller, A.G. Hildrew
& D.G. RaIfaelli. The 34th Symposium of the British Ecological Society with the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, University College, Cork, 1992. Oxford Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1994; 649 pp.; GBP 45.00; ISBN 0-63203789-X. This volume has emanated from a meeting of freshwater and marine ecologists and examines patchy distributions at different scales in the two environments. The first nine chapters examine freshwater environments, the second nine chapters marine environments. Two summary chapters then review those on freshwater and on marine and the last provides concluding thoughts. The distributional patterns of organisms, and the processes responsible for them, in the marine environment are reviewed in the intertidal and subtidal rocky and sediment substrata and in the oceanic pelagic and deep-sea benthic regimes. A quick read of the chapters devoted to these topics immediately impresses the importance of time and spatial scales of investigation. A much finer focus is employed in benthic than in pelagic environments, the former obtaining pertinent data from the intertidal quadrat or the focal length of a bathysnap camera in an essentially two dimensional environment. Comparable investigations of the fluid three dimensional pelagic systems, which are in more or less constant motion, are of necessity on larger spatial scales although attemps to work at smaller scales have been made. Scale and stability in hard bottom communities of the intertidal, kelp and subtidal regimes are reviewed by P.K. Dayton. He points out that physical and chemical oceanographic contexts of these communities are frequently ignored. Patches in isolation will decay and dispersal/recruitment is their life blood. He argues that “dispersal is a pivotal process integrating ecological organisation at all scales”. Patchiness and disturbance of shallow water benthic assemblages are reviewed (S.J. Hall, D. Raffaelli & S.F. Thrush) and again a plea for greater understanding of dispersal mechanisms in patch formation and maintenance is made along with the observation that interactions with the physical and chemical parameters of the environment must be better understood. Much less is known about patchiness in the deep-sea benthos (A.L. Rice & P.J.D. Lambshead) where it certainly exists and interacts with the patchiness of sedimentation of organic inputs as phytodetritus and “large lump arrivals”. The interaction of this patchiness of food supply is discussed along with larval dispersal pro-
Book Reviews /J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 188 (1995) 145-149
149
cesses in the deep-sea (J.F. Grassle & J.P. Grassle) and the question asked as to whether these results can be extrapolated to shallow water soft sediment environments. The scales at which physical processes affect functioning and patterning of pelagic systems is reviewed (K.L. Denman), the principle conclusion being that modern physics has not yet been integrated with the biology. A review of long-term and large-scale patterns in pelagic systems (M.V. Angel) ephasises the long-term environmental continuity in these systems, longer than in terrestrial environments. This long-term stability in the spatial and temporal patterns of these systems is reviewed in terms of the palaeoecology of marine systems (B. Molfino), the biotic response patterns of high and low latitude systems being contrasted. Comparisons of scale-dependent patterns in nekton (D.C. Schneider) raises questions of how the correct scales for any given investigation are to be selected. The biogeographic patterns of shallow-water systems (A.A. Myers) is reviewed in the context of large-scale tectonic, eustatic, climatic and oceanographic processes. Finally, concepts of scale, pattern and process are defined (T. Platt & S. Sathyendranath) in the penultimate chapter; this serves equally as a summary and an introduction to the marine chapters. The freshwater chapters of this book should not be ignored by marine ecologists. Half the chapters are devoted to rivers and streams and some of the approaches and concepts, for example refugia, have relevance to the marine environment. The lake studies are even more apposite and topics parallel to the marine ones are discussed. Landscape ecology, developed in terrestrial fields, has applications in both the freshwater and marine environments. The scales of freshwater systems are inherently different from the marine, being much smaller in both space and time. The juxtaposition, within the same volume, of concepts of scales and processes in the two contrasting fluid media is stimulating in the extreme. There is an author index and a very useful subject index both of which can be used for locating comparative information or concepts in the two environments. The book is not light bedtime reading as some chapters are quite complex and require considerable concentration. There are also some annoying typing errors scattered throughout. These, however, do little to mar the value of this book. I have no hesitation in recommending detailed reading of parts of particular interest but suggest that dipping (or diving) into the rest could be extremely profitable. John Mauchline Scottish Association for Marine P.O. Box 3 Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD UK
Science
Book Reviews/J.
ogy, and I hope it will attract important range of habitats. Erik Bonsdorff Huso Biological Station, Abe Akademi University FIN-22220 Emkarby Finland
Exp. Mar. Bid. Ed.
the interest
Department
of students
188 (1995) 145-149
and established
scientists
to this
of Biology
Aquatic Ecology. Scale, Pattern and Process, edited by P.S. Giller, A.G. Hildrew
& D.G. RaIfaelli. The 34th Symposium of the British Ecological Society with the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, University College, Cork, 1992. Oxford Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1994; 649 pp.; GBP 45.00; ISBN 0-63203789-X. This volume has emanated from a meeting of freshwater and marine ecologists and examines patchy distributions at different scales in the two environments. The first nine chapters examine freshwater environments, the second nine chapters marine environments. Two summary chapters then review those on freshwater and on marine and the last provides concluding thoughts. The distributional patterns of organisms, and the processes responsible for them, in the marine environment are reviewed in the intertidal and subtidal rocky and sediment substrata and in the oceanic pelagic and deep-sea benthic regimes. A quick read of the chapters devoted to these topics immediately impresses the importance of time and spatial scales of investigation. A much finer focus is employed in benthic than in pelagic environments, the former obtaining pertinent data from the intertidal quadrat or the focal length of a bathysnap camera in an essentially two dimensional environment. Comparable investigations of the fluid three dimensional pelagic systems, which are in more or less constant motion, are of necessity on larger spatial scales although attemps to work at smaller scales have been made. Scale and stability in hard bottom communities of the intertidal, kelp and subtidal regimes are reviewed by P.K. Dayton. He points out that physical and chemical oceanographic contexts of these communities are frequently ignored. Patches in isolation will decay and dispersal/recruitment is their life blood. He argues that “dispersal is a pivotal process integrating ecological organisation at all scales”. Patchiness and disturbance of shallow water benthic assemblages are reviewed (S.J. Hall, D. Raffaelli & S.F. Thrush) and again a plea for greater understanding of dispersal mechanisms in patch formation and maintenance is made along with the observation that interactions with the physical and chemical parameters of the environment must be better understood. Much less is known about patchiness in the deep-sea benthos (A.L. Rice & P.J.D. Lambshead) where it certainly exists and interacts with the patchiness of sedimentation of organic inputs as phytodetritus and “large lump arrivals”. The interaction of this patchiness of food supply is discussed along with larval dispersal pro-
Book Reviews /J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 188 (1995) 145-149
149
cesses in the deep-sea (J.F. Grassle & J.P. Grassle) and the question asked as to whether these results can be extrapolated to shallow water soft sediment environments. The scales at which physical processes affect functioning and patterning of pelagic systems is reviewed (K.L. Denman), the principle conclusion being that modern physics has not yet been integrated with the biology. A review of long-term and large-scale patterns in pelagic systems (M.V. Angel) ephasises the long-term environmental continuity in these systems, longer than in terrestrial environments. This long-term stability in the spatial and temporal patterns of these systems is reviewed in terms of the palaeoecology of marine systems (B. Molfino), the biotic response patterns of high and low latitude systems being contrasted. Comparisons of scale-dependent patterns in nekton (D.C. Schneider) raises questions of how the correct scales for any given investigation are to be selected. The biogeographic patterns of shallow-water systems (A.A. Myers) is reviewed in the context of large-scale tectonic, eustatic, climatic and oceanographic processes. Finally, concepts of scale, pattern and process are defined (T. Platt & S. Sathyendranath) in the penultimate chapter; this serves equally as a summary and an introduction to the marine chapters. The freshwater chapters of this book should not be ignored by marine ecologists. Half the chapters are devoted to rivers and streams and some of the approaches and concepts, for example refugia, have relevance to the marine environment. The lake studies are even more apposite and topics parallel to the marine ones are discussed. Landscape ecology, developed in terrestrial fields, has applications in both the freshwater and marine environments. The scales of freshwater systems are inherently different from the marine, being much smaller in both space and time. The juxtaposition, within the same volume, of concepts of scales and processes in the two contrasting fluid media is stimulating in the extreme. There is an author index and a very useful subject index both of which can be used for locating comparative information or concepts in the two environments. The book is not light bedtime reading as some chapters are quite complex and require considerable concentration. There are also some annoying typing errors scattered throughout. These, however, do little to mar the value of this book. I have no hesitation in recommending detailed reading of parts of particular interest but suggest that dipping (or diving) into the rest could be extremely profitable. John Mauchline Scottish Association for Marine P.O. Box 3 Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD UK
Science