Biocomplexity

Rita R Colwell, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003437

Biocomplexity is a term used to describe the dynamic web of often surprising interrelationships that arise when living things at all levels, from their molecular structures to genes to ecosystems, interact with their environment.

Keywords: biocomplexity; ecosystems; environment; organism; genetics

Figure 1. Biocomplexity. Source: National Science Foundation.
Figure 2. Cholera outbreaks and increases in sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH). Source: Lobitz et al. (2000).
Figure 3. Effects of oceanic nitrogen fixation on global climate. Source: Anthony Michaels, Gerald Haug and Douglas Capone, Oceanic N2 Fixation and Global Climate, University of Southern California.
close
 References
    book Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Natural Resources, Marine Fisheries Office (1999) "Information Regarding the Impact of 1999 Lobster Mortalities in Long Island Sound". [http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/fishing/lobmor.pdf]
    Hofestädt R and Thelen S (1998) Quantitative modeling of biochemical networks. In Silico Biology 1: 39–53.
    Jones CG, Ostfeld RS, Richard MP, Schauber EM and Wolff JO (1998) Chain reactions linking acorns to gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease risk. Science 279: 1023–1026.
    Lobitz B, Beck L, Huq A et al. (2000) Climate and infectious disease: use of remote sensing for detection of Vibrio cholerae by indirect measurement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97: 1438–1443.
    McAllister DE (1995) How will climate change affect taiga underlain by permafrost? Global Biodiversity 5: 33.
    Morreale SJ, Standora EA, Spotila JR and Paladino FV (1996) Migration corridor for sea turtles. Nature 384: 319–320.
    book Odum EP (1959) Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders.
    Palmer AR and Zen E (2000) Toward a stewardship of the Global Commons: engaging ‘my neighbor’ in the issue of sustainability. Part 5. Earth systems: the connectedness of everything. GSA Today 10(5): 10. [http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/local/sustain5.htm]
    Spotila JR, Reina RD, Steyermark AC, Plotkin PT and Paladino FV (2000) Pacific leatherback turtles face extinction. Nature 405: 529–530.
    book von Bertalanffy L (1969) General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, revised edn. New York: George Braziller.
    book Wilson EO (1998) Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. New York: Vintage Books.
 Further Reading
    book Board on Sustainable Development, Policy Division, National Research Council (1999) Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
    Colwell RR (1996) Global climate and infectious disease: the cholera paradigm. Science 274: 2025–2031.
    Hood RR, Michael AS and Capona DG (2000) Answers sought to the enigma of marine nitrogen fixation. EOS 81(133): 138–139.
    Moran NA and Baumann P (2000) Bacterial endosymbionts in animals. Current Opinion in Microbiology 3: 270–275.
    book Reaka-Kudla ML, Wilson DE and Wilson EO (eds.) (1997) Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting our Biological Resources. Washington DC: Joseph Henry Press.
    book Schneiderman JS (ed.) (2000) The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet. New York: WH Freeman.
    book Wilson EO (1999) The Diversity of Life. New York: WW Norton.
    book Youngquist WL (1997) GeoDestinies: The Inevitable Control of Earth Resources Over Nations and Individuals. Portland, OR: National Book Company.

Related Sub-Topics:

General Ecology
Contact Editor close
Submit a note to the editor about this article by filling in the form below.

* Required Field

Article Title: Biocomplexity
 
How to Cite close
Colwell, Rita R(Apr 2001) Biocomplexity. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003437]