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Population fluctuations over a twenty year period in the macrobenthic communities of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil, on the western coast of Scotland, are related to changing organic inputs to the area and to long-term temperature changes. It is suggested that the carrying capacity of sedimentary benthos is dependent on organic input, but that the species composition of the communities may be modified by climatic fluctuations acting on the spawning success and subsequent recruitment of particular species. Confirmation of such hypotheses generated from field time-series data should be obtained by experimentation.