Over the past 25 years, investigations of patch dynamics in terrestrial and intertidal ecosystems have thoroughly revised our concepts of the processes structuring many natural communities (Levin et al., 1993). Although patchiness in the distributions of plankton has long been recognized (Steele, 1978), the patch dynamics of oceanic ecosystems have proven less amenable to direct observation and experimental investigation. Part of the problem arises from our limited ability to observe directly the processes underlying patch dynamics in the open ocean. Another part of the problem arises from the more ephemeral nature of planktonic distributions in the three-dimensional, fluid environment of the open ocean.

Greene, C.H., P.H. Wiebe, and J.E. Zamon. 1994. Acoustic visualization of patch dynamics in oceanic ecosystems. Oceanography 7(1):4–12, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1994.09.

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