A Review of the Present State of Understanding of Marine Fish Communities

A review of recent literature reveals the problems of perspective on explaining the dynamics of marine fish communities. While tropical reef systems have been examined generally from the small spatial scales such as patch reefs or individual fishes, temperate and boreal systems have generally been observed at very large scales, for example over large tracts of the continental shelf. Neither approach has been totally satisfactory in explaining variations in population and community structures and dynamics. Progress and methods of these two types of studies are discussed.