The concept of a ‘ vertical ambush corridor ’ is herein introduced to marine ecosystem science. In the open ocean, adequate physical cover from which to launch an unanticipated ambush attack is generally lacking. An available alternative is for a predator to channel its attack vertically upward from below, rendering an unlighted approaching predator extremely difficult for a downward viewing potential prey to visually identify...

The conventional view of the reproductive ecology of bluefin tunas ( T hunnus thynnus, T hunnus orientalis, T hunnus maccoyii ) leads to a conceptual paradox. Simple arithmetic yields an expectation for wide variation in annual reproductive success. However, the historical record does not support this prediction. A conclusion would seem to be that a much stronger than usual density dependence must be acting. It is here argued...

Coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems generally represent the most productive large marine ecosystems of the world's oceans, in terms of both primary production rates and tonnages of exploitable fish produced. The Peruvian upwelling system, in particular, stands out as a major factor in world fish production. The Pacific trade winds have traditionally been considered to be the primary driving force for the upwelling system off Pe...

Several mechanisms for self‐enhancing feedback instabilities in marine ecosystems are identified and briefly elaborated. It appears that adverse phases of operation may be abruptly triggered by explosive breakouts in abundance of one or more previously suppressed populations. Moreover, an evident capacity of marine organisms to accomplish extensive geographic habitat expansions may expand and perpetuate a breakout event. This...

Widespread hypoxia and massive eruptions of noxious, radiatively active gases currently characterize the world's strongest eastern ocean upwelling zone. Theory, modelling results and observations suggest that the world's coastal upwelling zones will undergo progressive intensification in response to greenhouse gas buildup. This presents the prospect of progressive development of similarly degraded marine ecosystems in addition...

A process of comparative pattern recognition is undertaken for the purpose of garnering insights into the mechanisms underlying some currently puzzling conundrums in fishery resource ecology. These include (a) out‐of‐phase oscillations between anchovies and sardines, (b) the remarkable fish productivity of the Peru–Humboldt marine ecosystem, (c) sardine population increases in the eastern Pacific during El Niños, (d) basin‐wid...

Summaries of maritime weather reports and mean seasonal satellite‐sensed ocean colour distributions for the Mediterranean Sea are used to identify characteristic configurations of physical mechanisms promoting (i) nutrient enrichment, (ii) concentration of larval food distributions, and (iii) local retention of eggs and larvae. Five subbasin scale `ocean triads', hypothesized to be particularly favourable groupings, are identi...