Community Ecology
Scale
Outline:
1. Scale
A. Definitions
i. colloquial and cartographic definitions are opposites!
B. Continuum of approaches to include scale in ecological research
C. Example of how scale can affect studies in community ecology: Fuisz and
Moskát 1992
2. Problems with translating across scales
A. McIntyre 1997 - different mechanisms operating at different spatial scales
B. Roth et al. 1996 - local and regional effects may be opposite
C. With 1993 - importance of organism body size and perception
3. Responses to scale usually not linear: domains of scale (Krummel et al. 1987)
Terms/people:
scale
grain
extrapolation
interpolation
colloquial definition cartographic definition
environmental scaling
observational (perceptual) scaling
extent
domains of scale
organism response to scale
Kotliar and Wiens
Scale Two aspects of scale (Kotliar and Wiens 1990):
grain
extent
Two usages of the term "scale": colloquial (used in ecology) and cartographic, and
these are opposites to one another!
Fuisz and Moskát 1992: example of how consideration of scale can affect estimation of
community structure
Problems with translating across scales (extrapolation and interpolation):
McIntyre 1997 - habitat selection in beetle Eleodes hispilabris
Roth et al. 1996 - local and regional effects may be opposite
With 1993 - effects of body size in grasshoppers
Domains of scale - scaling relationships are usually not linear (Krummel et al. 1987)
Next time: Spatial dynamics of communities: island biogeography
References:
Addicott, J.F., J.M. Aho, M.F. Antolin, D.K. Padilla, J.S. Richardson, and D.A. Soulik.
1987. Ecological neighborhoods: scaling environmental patterns. Oikos 49:340-346.
Fortin, M.-J. 1999. Spatial statistics in landscape ecology. Pp. 253-279 in: Landscape
Ecological Analysis: Issues and Applications (J.M. Klopatek and R.H. Gardener, eds.).
Springer, New York, NY.
Fuisz, T., and C. Moskát. 1992. The importance of scale in studying beetle communities:
hierarchical sampling or sampling the hierarchy? Acta Zool. Hung. 38:183-197.
Kotliar, N.B., and J.A. Wiens. 1990. Multiple scales of patchiness and patch structure: a
hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity. Oikos 59:253-260.
Krummel, J.R., R.H. Gardner, G. Sugihara, R.V. O’Neill, and P.R. Coleman. 1987.
Landscape patterns in a disturbed environment. Oikos 48:321-324.
Levin, S.A. 1992. The problem of pattern and scale in ecology. Ecology 73:1943-1967.
May, R.M. 1994. The effects of spatial scale on ecological questions and answers. Pp. 117 in: Large-Scale Ecology and Conservation Biology (P.J. Edwards, R.M. May, and
N.R. Webb, eds.). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK.
McIntyre, N.E. 1997. Scale-dependent habitat selection by the darkling beetle Eleodes
hispilabris (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Am. Midl. Nat. 138:230-235.
Menge, B.A., and A.M. Olson. 1990. Role of scale and environmental factors in
regulation of community structure. Trends Ecol. Evol. 5:52-57.
Niemelä, J.K., and J.R. Spence. 1994. Distribution of forest dwelling carabids
(Coleoptera): spatial scale and the concept of communities. Ecography 17:166-175.
Perez, K.T. 1995. Role and significance of scale in ecotoxicology. Pp. 49-72 in:
Ecological Toxicity Testing: Scale, Complexity, and Relevance (J. Cairns, Jr., and B.R.
Neiderlehner, eds.). Lewis Pub., Ann Arbor, MI.
Rastetter, E.B., A.W. King, B.J. Cosby, G.M. Hornberger, R.V. O’Neill, and J.E. Hobbie.
1992. Aggregating fine-scale ecological knowledge to model coarser-scale attributes of
ecosystems. Ecol. Appl. 2:55-70.
Roth, N.E., J.D. Allen, and D.L. Erickson. 1996. Landscape influences on stream biotic
integrity assessed at multiple spatial scales. Landscape Ecology 11:141-156.
Schneider, D.C. 1994. Quantitative Ecology: Spatial and Temporal Scaling. Academic
Press, New York, NY.
Turner, M.G., V.H. Dale, and R.H. Gardner. 1989. Predicting across scales: theory
development and testing. Landscape Ecology 3:245-252.
Turner, M.G., R.V. O’Neill, R.H. Gardner, and B.T. Milne. 1989. Effects of changing
spatial scale on the analysis of landscape pattern. Landscape Ecology 3:153-162.
van Gardinger, P.R., G.M. Foody, and P.J. Curran, eds. 1997. Scaling-up: From Cell to
Landscape. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Wiens, J.A. 1989. Spatial scaling in ecology. Functional Ecology 3:385-397.
With, K.A. 1993. The translation of patterns across scales: analysis of movement patterns
in a grassland mosaic. Ph.D. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
Withers, M.A., and V. Meentemeyer. 1999. Concepts of scale in landscape ecology. Pp.
205-252 in: Landscape Ecological Analysis: Issues and Applications (J.M. Klopatek and
R.H. Gardner, eds.). Springer, New York, NY.