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Science 16 December 1983:
Vol. 222. no. 4629, pp. 1203 - 1210
DOI: 10.1126/science.222.4629.1203
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Articles

Biological Consequences of El Niño

Richard T. Barber 1 and Francisco P. Chavez 2

1 Professor in the Department of Zoology and the Department of Botany, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516.
2 Graduate student in the Department of Botany, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516.

Observations of the 1982-1983 El Niño make it possible to relate the anomalous ocean conditions to specific biological responses. In October 1982 upwelling ecosystems in the eastern equatorial Pacific began a series of transitions from the normal highly productive condition to greatly reduced productivity. The highly productive condition had returned by July 1983. Nutrients, phytoplankton biomass, and primary productivity are clearly regulated by the physical changes of El Niño. Evidence from 1982 and 1983 also suggests effects on higher organisms such as fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, but several more years of observation are required to accurately determine the magnitude of the consequences on these higher trophic levels.


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Catastrophic Storms, El Nino, and Patch Stability in a Southern California Kelp Community.
P. K. DAYTON and M. J. TEGNER (1984)
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Oceanographic Events During El Nino.
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