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This book discusses the impact of recent advances in the theory of "scaling relationships" and identifies critical issues that must be considered if experimental results are used to understand the temporal and spatial scales of actual ecosystems.
The complexity of ecosystems complicates experimental design. How, for example, does a scientist draw boundaries when studying species effects and interactions? Once these boundaries are drawn, how does one treat factors external to that study? Will the failure to consider external factors affect one's ability to extrapolate information across temporal and spatial scales? This volume provides a compilation from a broad range of ecologists with extensive experimental research experience that addresses these and other questions of scaling relations.
List of contents
I. Background
Scale Dependence and the Problem of Extrapolation: Implications for Experimental & Natural Coastal Ecosystems, by W. Michael Kemp, John E. Petersen, Robert H. Gardner
II. Scaling Theory
Understanding the Problem of Scale in Experimental Ecology, by John A. Wiens
Spatial Allometry: Theory & Application to Experimental and Natural Aquatic Ecosystems, by David C. Schneider
III. Scaling Mesocosms to Nature
Getting it Right and Wrong: Extrapolations Across Experimental Scales, by Michael L. Pace
Some Reluctant Ruminations on Scales (and Claws and Teeth) in Marine Mesocosms, by Scott Nixon
Evaluating and Modeling Foraging Performance of Planktivorous & Picivorous Fish: Effects of Containment and Issues of Scale, by Michael R. Heath & Edward D. Houde
Experimental Validity & Ecological Scale as Criteria for Evaluating Research Programs, by Shahid Naeem
IV. Scale & Experiment in Different Ecosystems
Scaling Issues in Experimental Ecology: Fresh Water Systems, by Thomas M. Frost, Robert E. Ulanowicz, Steve C. Blomenshine, Timothy F. H. Allen
Terrestrial Perspectives on Issues of Scale in Experimental Ecology, by Anthony W. King, Robert H. Gardner, Colleen A. Hatfield, Shahid Naeem, John E. P
Issues of Scale in Land-Margin Ecosystems, by Walter R. Boynton, James D. Hagy, and Denise L. Breitburg
Scaling Issues in Marine Experimental Ecosystems: The Role of Patchiness, by David L. Scheurer, David C. Schneider, and Lawrence P. Sanford
About the author
Robert H. Gardner, W. Michael Kemp, Victor S. Kennedy and John E. Petersen
Summary
This book discusses the impact of recent advances in the theory of "scaling relationships" and identifies critical issues that must be considered if experimental results are used to understand the temporal and spatial scales of actual ecosystems.
