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Seasonal Dynamics

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Marine Hard Bottom Communities

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 206))

Abstract

Seasonal cycles are common phenomena in all marine ecosystems and lifecycles of marine organisms show marked seasonal patterns in growth, reproduction and abundance. There are several patterns of seasonal dynamics in the water column governed by factors such as photoperiod, light intensity, food availability, oxygen, salinity and temperature, all influencing energy expenditure in marine benthic organisms. Generally, organisms react to their total environment, rather than to any single factor. Therefore, a combination of environmental factors would provide the most successful approach to understanding seasonal patterns in marine communities. It will be a challenge to integrate the effects of multiple factors, as well as their interactive effects, to determine seasonality in the lifecycles of marine organisms at different scales: individual, population and community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento Biología Marina y Oceanografía, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37–49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Josep-Maria Gili

  2. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 19104-6018, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Peter S. Petraitis

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  1. Josep-Maria Gili
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  2. Peter S. Petraitis
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Correspondence to Josep-Maria Gili .

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    © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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    Gili, JM., Petraitis, P.S. (2009). Seasonal Dynamics. In: Wahl, M. (eds) Marine Hard Bottom Communities. Ecological Studies, vol 206. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b76710_13

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