What is it about?

We describe coastal upwelling variation in northern Chile by two sources: satellite oceanographic data in SST and chlorophyll a; and in situ, time-averaged data on upwelling influence in the intertidal (organism stable nitrogen ratios). These spatial patterns are compared to seaweed and primary consumer assemblage structure and the importance of trophic pathways between these compartments. Consistent spatial patterns robustly suggest important processes at work.

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Why is it important?

Analogous ecological structures may develop at geographically distant regions because of similar environmental conditions and variation. Identifying the processes underlying consistent links between broadscale ecological structures and environmental conditions will therefore aid ecology's search for general relationships. Upwelling regions are common at oceanic eastern boundarys and we present a comprehensive study of their ecology, including a perspective from stable isotopes.

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This page is a summary of: Coastal Upwelling Drives Intertidal Assemblage Structure and Trophic Ecology, PLoS ONE, July 2015, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130789.
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