Interannual variability in species composition explained as seasonally entrained chaos

The species composition of plankton, insect and annual plant communities may vary markedly from year to year. Such interannual variability is usually thought to be driven by year-to-year variation in weather conditions. Here we examine an alternative explanation. We studied the effects of regular seasonal forcing on a multi-species predator-prey model consisting of phytoplankton and zooplankton species. The model predicts that interannual...