by the components, hydrogen and oxygen. To cite a few, it is a liquid, 
chemically inert, and has its maximum density of 4°C; in contrast to the two 
gaseous components having none of these characteristics. It is obvious that the 
holistic approach of studying water as water (as a whole molecular complex) 
would reveal these important integrative, or “emergent”, properties more easily 
and quickly than the reductionist approach keying on the study of the 
component parts. Thus, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to deduce 
the maximum-density-at-4°C property of water from knowledge of the 
properties of hydrogen and oxygen as they occur in their separate states. 
Thus, the forest is indeed more than a collection of trees, to quote an old 
adage. As a specific example of emergent properties at the ecosystem level, I 
might cite the work my brother and I did on a coral reef on a Pacific Atoll, as 
was alluded to by Frank Lowman in his introduction. We measured the 
metabolism of the intact reef by monitoring oxygen changes in the water 
flowing over the reef. We also did a detailed trophic analysis as a means of 
charting major energy flows, and were able to construct an energy budget for 
the whole system. It became evident from these analyses that coral animals and 
associated algae were much more closely linked metabolically than had 
previously been supposed, and that the inflow of nutrients and animal food 
from surrounding ocean water was inadequate to support the reef community 
if corals and other biota were functioning in ordinary food chains. We 
theorized that the observed very high rate of productivity for the reef as a 
whole was an emergent property resulting from symbiotic linkages that 
maintain efficient energy use and nutrient recycling between autotrophic and 
heterotrophic components. I believe we can say that subsequent work on 
Pacific reefs has verified this hypothesis. 
As an interesting aside, we suggest that these coral reef discoveries have at 
least philosophical significance for urban-industrial man. The Pacific coral reef 
as an oasis in a desert ocean can stand as an object lesson for man who must 
now realize that mutalism between autotrophic and heterotrophic components, 
and between producers and consumers in the societal realm, coupled with 
efficient recycling of materials and use of energy, are the keys to maintaining 
prosperity in a world of limited resources. Only by moving up in our thinking, 
in our research, and in our management to the ecosystem level in the hierarchal 
system can we accomplish this vital mission. During the industrial revolution 
mankind essentially “uncoupled” himself from nature. Because the individual 
in industrial societies no longer is directly dependent on the natural 
environment for his day-to-day needs, he forgets how dependent we really are 
on natural processes that produce food, recycle water, purify air, and so on. 
Our food, for example, comes in on a long and complex chain of production, 
processing, and transportation so we are not really aware of where it came 
from or how much energy was expended, or how much pollution created, and 
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