  Most complex networks serve as conduits for various dynamical processes,
ranging from mass transfer by chemical reactions in the cell to packet transfer
on the Internet. We collected data on the time dependent activity of five
natural and technological networks, finding that for each the coupling of the
flux fluctuations with the total flux on individual nodes obeys a unique
scaling law. We show that the observed scaling can explain the competition
between the system's internal collective dynamics and changes in the external
environment, allowing us to predict the relevant scaling exponents.
