Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 77 (3): 371-409, 2004
RESEARCH ARTICLE
An overview of interactions among oceanography, marine ecosystems, climatic and human
disruptions along the eastern margins of the Pacific Ocean
Physical processes, biotic processes and human activities all act to shape marine
ecosystems. Future management of these valuable ecosystems requires an integrative approach that takes into account complicated
organismal interactions, oceanographic processes that span large scales of time and space, and how anthropogenic effects interact
with the natural environment. The temperate west coasts of North and South America represent a unique opportunity for comparison,
as many of the same oceanographic processes, particularly upwelling, occur off both coasts. Additionally, a number of marine
ecosystems in both areas have surprising parallels. Here we present an overview of the oceanographic processes that dominate the
coastlines, and give examples of ecosystems and the effects that oceanography, human activities and their interaction have on the
communities.
Key words:
eastern boundary
currents, anthropogenic effects, marine community ecology, fisheries, interdecadal variability
