  When magnetohydrodynamic turbulence evolves in the presence of a large-scale
mean magnetic field, an anisotropy develops relative to that preferred
direction. The well-known tendency is to develop stronger gradients
perpendicular to the magnetic field, relative to the direction along the field.
This anisotropy of the spectrum is deeply connected with anisotropy of
estimated timescales for dynamical processes, and requires reconsideration of
basic issues such as scale locality and spectral transfer. Here analysis of
high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of unforced magnetohydrodynamic
turbulence permits quantitative assessment of the behavior of theoretically
relevant timescales in Fourier wavevector space. We discuss the distribution of
nonlinear times, Alfv\'en times, and estimated spectral transfer rates.
Attention is called to the potential significance of special regions of the
spectrum, such as the two-dimensional limit and the "critical balance" region.
A formulation of estimated spectral transfer in terms of a suppression factor
supports a conclusion that the quasi two-dimensional fluctuations
(characterized by strong nonlinearities) are not a singular limit, but may be
in general expected to make important contributions.
