COMMUNICATION OF STRUCTURE IN PLANKTONIC POPULATIONS1

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Abstract
Two alternative approaches are usual in the study of ecosystems. One emphasizes biomass and production and deals with the system in terms of matter and energy; the other is more concerned with structure. Both approaches are complementary and for their synthesis we need quantitative expressions for structure and for structure transmission along time. Information theory can be helpful. Biotic diversity is an expression of the capacity for carrying information of the ecosystem (= “channel width”) at the level of individuals. Diversity can be appreciated also at other levels, e.g., at the biochemical level (pigment composition of phytoplankton). Many factors, in planktonic communities chiefly turbulence of water, introduce an amount of noise. Ecosystems can accumulate “history” or increase maturity— succession—only if “noise” remains relatively low. As changes in the energy flow across the ecosystem are related to diversity, this is an area where the study of relations between mass, energy and structure may be rewarding.
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