Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems
Abstract John Steele (1926–2013) is remembered for his ecosystem modelling studies on the role of biological interactions and environment on the structure and function of marine ecosystems, including consequences for fish production and fisheries management. Here, we provide a scientific tribute to...
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/plankt/fbz042 2023-05-15T17:34:19+02:00 Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems Anderson, Thomas R Gentleman, Wendy C Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Environment Research Council 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz042 http://academic.oup.com/plankt/article-pdf/41/5/609/31061629/fbz042.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY Journal of Plankton Research volume 41, issue 5, page 609-620 ISSN 0142-7873 1464-3774 Ecology Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2019 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz042 2022-12-29T15:40:20Z Abstract John Steele (1926–2013) is remembered for his ecosystem modelling studies on the role of biological interactions and environment on the structure and function of marine ecosystems, including consequences for fish production and fisheries management. Here, we provide a scientific tribute to Steele focusing on, by means of example, his modelling of plankton predation [Steele and Henderson (1992) The role of predation in plankton models. J. Plankton Res., 14, 157–172] that showed that differences in ecosystem dynamics between the subarctic Pacific and North Atlantic oceans can be explained solely on the basis of zooplankton mortality. The study highlights Steele’s artistry in simplifying the system to a tractable minimal model while paying great attention to the precise functional forms used to parameterize mortality, grazing and other biological processes. The success of this and other works by Steele was in large part due to his effective communication with the rest of the scientific community (especially non-modellers) resulting from his enthusiasm, use of an experiment-like (hypothesis driven) approach to applying his models and by describing simplifications and assumptions in scrupulous detail. We also intend our contribution to remember Steele as the consummate gentleman, notably his humble, behind-the-scenes attitude, his humour and his dedication to enhancing the careers of others. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Subarctic Oxford University Press (via Crossref) Pacific Steele ENVELOPE(-60.710,-60.710,-70.980,-70.980) Journal of Plankton Research 41 5 609 620 |
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Open Polar |
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Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
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Ecology Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Anderson, Thomas R Gentleman, Wendy C Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
topic_facet |
Ecology Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Abstract John Steele (1926–2013) is remembered for his ecosystem modelling studies on the role of biological interactions and environment on the structure and function of marine ecosystems, including consequences for fish production and fisheries management. Here, we provide a scientific tribute to Steele focusing on, by means of example, his modelling of plankton predation [Steele and Henderson (1992) The role of predation in plankton models. J. Plankton Res., 14, 157–172] that showed that differences in ecosystem dynamics between the subarctic Pacific and North Atlantic oceans can be explained solely on the basis of zooplankton mortality. The study highlights Steele’s artistry in simplifying the system to a tractable minimal model while paying great attention to the precise functional forms used to parameterize mortality, grazing and other biological processes. The success of this and other works by Steele was in large part due to his effective communication with the rest of the scientific community (especially non-modellers) resulting from his enthusiasm, use of an experiment-like (hypothesis driven) approach to applying his models and by describing simplifications and assumptions in scrupulous detail. We also intend our contribution to remember Steele as the consummate gentleman, notably his humble, behind-the-scenes attitude, his humour and his dedication to enhancing the careers of others. |
author2 |
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Environment Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anderson, Thomas R Gentleman, Wendy C |
author_facet |
Anderson, Thomas R Gentleman, Wendy C |
author_sort |
Anderson, Thomas R |
title |
Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
title_short |
Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
title_full |
Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
title_fullStr |
Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
title_full_unstemmed |
Remembering John Steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
title_sort |
remembering john steele and his models for understanding the structure and function of marine ecosystems |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz042 http://academic.oup.com/plankt/article-pdf/41/5/609/31061629/fbz042.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.710,-60.710,-70.980,-70.980) |
geographic |
Pacific Steele |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Steele |
genre |
North Atlantic Subarctic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic Subarctic |
op_source |
Journal of Plankton Research volume 41, issue 5, page 609-620 ISSN 0142-7873 1464-3774 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz042 |
container_title |
Journal of Plankton Research |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
609 |
op_container_end_page |
620 |
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1766133111671750656 |