REU: Collaborative Research: Spatial Scaling and the Effects of Patch Mosaic Structure in Semiarid Ecosystems

生态系统由景观元素的镶嵌组成， 斑块，这种斑块在许多空间尺度上都很明显。 本研究将回答两个一般性问题：（1） 景观格局在不同的空间尺度上重复，和 (2)景观镶嵌图的斑块结构如何影响 生态系统的动态和功能？ 第一个问题是 通过确定斑块的分布模式来解决 （植被和受干扰地区以及 节肢动物种群）在嵌套的空间尺度范围从1 m2至10 km2的半干旱生态系统。 通过确定 马赛克图案的重复性， 无论是欧几里得和分形维数，人们可以评估域 生态模式和过程独立运作 的规模。 这些域设置了限制， 任何特定规模的研究都可以外推到其他 鳞片 确定这些限制对以下方面至关重要： 任何试图归纳生态模式的尝试 或在景观马赛克过程中，或比较的结果， 研究不同的生态系统。 为了解决第二个问题， 生物媒介（蚂蚁和甲虫）将被研究， 中间尺度来确定它们与斑块的关系- 景观的镶嵌结构。 通过实验改变 局部环境的斑块结构或运动 动物的模式，这些生物可能在 这些斑块中物质或能量的重新分配 将对生态系统进行评估。 的程度 调查表明，在一定范围内， 在空间尺度上，在精细尺度上进行的研究可能有助于 作为一个代表大规模景观马赛克的"微观世界"。 因此，尽管微观和宏观尺度系统可能不同， 在生物学上，它们可能在以下方面具有统计学相似性： 模式，允许开发程序， 实验研究材料在 景观中的元素，重点关注精细尺度的类似物 宏观景观 这种性质的研究可能具有根本的重要性， 促进更好地管理干旱和半干旱地区的自然资源 之地 此外，可能存在迄今未被认识到的 使用新的数学方法所带来的好处 分析生态数据的方法。

Ecosystems consist of mosaics of landscape elements or patches, and this patchiness is evident at many spatial scales. This research will answer two general questions: (1) Are landscape patterns repetitive over different spatial scales?, and (2) How does the patch structure of a landscape mosaic affect ecosystem dynamics and functions? The first question will be addressed by determining the patterns of distribution of patches (vegetation and disturbed areas as well as distributions of arthropod populations) at nested spatial scales ranging from 1 m2 to 10 km2 in semiarid ecosystems. By determining the degree of repetitiveness of mosaic patterns over ranges of scales in both Euclidean and fractal dimensions, one can assess the domains in which ecological patterns and processes operate independently of scale. These domains set the limits within which results from studies at any particular scale can be extrapolated to other scales. Establishing these limits is of critical importance to any attempts to derive generalizations about ecological patterns or processes in landscape mosaics or to compare the results of investigations of different ecological systems. To address the second question, the movement patterns of biotic vectors (ants and beetles) will be studied at fine to intermediate scales to determine how they relate to the patch- mosaic structure of the landscapes. By experimentally altering the patch structure of local environments or the movement patterns of animals, the roles that these organisms may play in the redistribution of materials or energy among patches in these ecosystems will be estimated. To the extent that the investigations indicate repetitiveness of patterns over a range of spatial scales, the studies conducted at fine scales may serve as a "microcosm" representing larger-scale landscape mosaics. Thus, although micro and macro-scale systems may differ biologically, they may share statistical similarities in patterns, allowing the development of procedures for experimentally investigating the movement of materials among elements in a landscape by focusing on fine-scale analogs of macro-landscapes. Research of this nature may be of fundamental importance in promoting the better management of the natural resources of arid lands. Additionally, there could be heretofore unrecognized benefits that would derive from the use of new mathematical approaches to the analysis of ecological data.