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
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Figure 1.
Biocomplexity. Source: National Science Foundation. |
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Figure 2.
Cholera outbreaks and increases in sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH). Source: Lobitz et al.. |
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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. |
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Further Reading
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.
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Wilson EO (1999) The Diversity of Life. New York: WW Norton.
Youngquist WL (1997) GeoDestinies: The Inevitable Control of Earth Resources Over Nations and Individuals. Portland, OR: National Book Company.
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