The relationship between observational scale and explained variance in benthic communities.

This study addresses the impact of spatial scale on explaining variance in benthic communities. In particular, the analysis estimated the fraction of community variation that occurred at a spatial scale smaller than the sampling interval (i.e.

Complex equilibria in the maintenance of boundaries: experiments with mussel beds.

Stationary boundaries of sedentary species may belie dynamic processes that form them. Our aim was to test an implication of an evolving body of theory, that such boundaries are manifestations of complex regulatory dynamics. On rocky shores of British Columbia, large-scale field experiments altered the densities of predatory sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus), causing shifts in the location of the lower vertical boundaries of their prey, sea mussels (Mytilus californianus).