Positive feedback in aquatic ecosystems: The case of the microbial loop

Lewi Stone*, Tom Berman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

The description of the "microbial loop" has led to some major changes in our understanding of nutrient cycling within aquatic ecosystems. It now appears that in many settings it is not uncommon for some 50% of phytoplankton production to be diverted into microbial pathways rather than passing up to higher trophic levels. As a result the microbial loop is responsible for enhanced and rapid nutrient cycling at the very base of the food web. Since tight recycling is often associated with unstable positive feedback, we use a model to examine the possible repercussions in more detail. The model simulates the dynamics of the microbial loop and finds it to greatly affect the way in which aquatic primary production responds to nutrient pulses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)919-936
Number of pages18
JournalBulletin of Mathematical Biology
Volume55
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1993
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israel Water Commissioner
U.S.-Israel Binational Foundation
Australian Research Council

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