Scientists in the field of marine ecology have long sought to understand the complex interactions that occur between various organisms in a natural community, and how the physical aspects of their environment influence such important ecological parameters as survival, reproduction, the introduction of new individuals into a population, and the maintenance of population sizes. Much has been learned about the direct effects of one organisms on the population of another (e.g., a predator on a prey species, or a superior competitor on another living thing sharing the same habitat). More complex indirect effects are still not well understood nor predictable, yet these types of interactions can have dramatic controlling influences on the dynamics and maintenance of natural populations. For example, estuarine animals that rely on planktonic larvae to sustain populations can be drastically impacted by offshore changes in predatory fishes that control larval abundance. Dr. Lipcius is a young ecologist who has already exhibited great productivity and innovation in his research, much of it dealing with important resources species (lobsters and crabs). Dr. Lipcius has proposed a sophisticated investigation of such complex, higher-order interactions that work to control animal populations in coastal estuaries. The animals he will study include some very important commercial species; the blue crab, the soft-shelled clam, and the littleneck clam. This research should not only provide some needed data to test new theory on the organization of natural communities via higher- order interactions, but it will also yield some important ecological information useful in the management of valuable fisheries resources.
