Stability in an annually defaunated estuarine soft-bottom community.

The concept of biological stability is so complex that at least six different meanings have been ascribed to it. We propose that one definition, "the ability of a system once perturbed to return to its previous state" be utilized as a working definition. Using quantitative data collected monthly from a soft-bottom community that undergoes an annual natural catastrophic defaunation coupled with a recently developed analytical technique, we demonstrate the feasability of a working definition and show the existence of stability in the soft-bottom community. The utility of a working definition of stability in the evaluation of disturbance is discussed.