Applied scaling theory

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The long-term research objective is to develop reliable,  theoretically sound means for scaling from field measurements and experiments (typically at a small spatial and temporal scales) to questions of human impact on the environment, which typically occurs at far larger scales.  Reliable calculations at large spatial scales are required throughout applied ecology, including habitat-based research in conservation biology, estimating rates of change in biodiversity,  anticipating the impacts of climate change, management of fisheries, and science-based assessment of point-source and regional environmental impacts.       The primary objective of this proposal is to show that the science base for applied ecology can be improved by developing  and testing spatial scaling functions based on a generalised scaling relation (Schneider 2001).  Scaling functions will be developed in collaboration with two doctoral students (fishery bycatch, marine contaminants).    For the problem of fishery bycatch, the research hypothesis will be that the exponent that scales catch to effort will decrease in fisheries where intervention reduces catch. The resulting knowledge of variation in exponent will improve estimates of total bycatch.  For the problem of contaminants, the research hypothesis will be that risk scales exponentially with contaminant body burden, which in turn scales allometrically with body size.  The resulting knowledge will improve the efficiency of monitoring activities.     A third objective of this proposal is to discover the mechanisms responsible for spatial structure of eelgrass habitat, which is known to govern the density and feeding success of newly recruited cod.     Process based scaling functions are more reliable than empirical function and thus improve the science base of applied ecology.  The research will expose students to a predictive approach, where process-based scaling functions are formulated and then tested against data.