Scale-up of ecological experiments: Density variation in the mobile bivalve Macomona liliana

By: , and 

Links

Abstract

At present the problem of scaling up from controlled experiments (necessarily at a small spatial scale) to questions of regional or global importance is perhaps the most pressing issue in ecology. Most of the proposed techniques recommend iterative cycling between theory and experiment. We present a graphical technique that facilitates this cycling by allowing the scope of experiments, surveys, and natural history observations to be compared to the scope of models and theory. We apply the scope analysis to the problem of understanding the population dynamics of a bivalve exposed to environmental stress at the scale of a harbour. Previous lab and field experiments were found not to be 1:1 scale models of harbour-wide processes. Scope analysis allowed small scale experiments to be linked to larger scale surveys and to a spatially explicit model of population dynamics.
Publication type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Title Scale-up of ecological experiments: Density variation in the mobile bivalve Macomona liliana
DOI 10.1016/S0022-0981(97)00093-2
Volume 216
Issue 1-2
Year Published 1997
Language English
Larger Work Title Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
First page 129
Last page 152
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details