Spatial variation in soft-sediment benthos
TLDR
The present study concerns the abundance of macrofauna but the conclusions are general and are relevant to s tud~es of other vanables such as pollutants.Abstract:
V a r ~ a t ~ o n (patchiness) In the d~st r~but ion of organisms and other env~ronmental vanables exists at different spatial scales This patchiness has Important implicat~ons for comparative and d e s c r ~ p t ~ v e studies of d~stnbution and abundance because ~t complicates comparisons of abundance at the largest spa t~a l scales Although the existence of patchiness has been recognised for a long time, it has not been adequately addressed in most studies of manne soft s ed~ment s which are often confounded (or pseudoreplicated') because of a lack of appropriate spatlal replicat~on Spatial vanation In the distnbution of soft-sediment macrofauna In Botany Bay, Australia 1s described using a nested hierarchical sampling design Significant vanatlon was detected at spatial scales from 10 m to 3 5 km Implications of patchiness for environmental sampllng and monitoring and the means of overcoming associated problems are discussed The present study concerns the abundance of macrofauna but the conclusions are general and are relevant to s tud~es of other vanables such as pollutantsread more
Citations
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Observations in ecology: you can't make progress on processes without understanding the patterns.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors recognize the experimental, hypothesis-testing nature of many descriptive studies and consider the relevance of sound logic and experimental design in the planning, collection and interpretation of observations.
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Scales of spatial patterns of distribution of intertidal invertebrates.
A. J. Underwood,M.G. Chapman +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantified spatial patterns of a suite of intertidal snails and a species of barnacle using a range of statistical techniques and found that significant differences in abundances occurred primarily at two spatial scales.
Journal ArticleDOI
Spatial and temporal variation in benthic macrofauna and relationships with environmental variables in an estuarine, intertidal soft-sediment environment
T.J. Ysebaert,Peter M. J. Herman +1 more
TL;DR: This paper quantified the distribution, abundance, biomass and assemblage structure of macrobenthic macrofauna at different spatio-temporal scales in a temperate estuarine, intertidal soft-sediment environment in the Schelde estuary, The Netherlands.
Journal ArticleDOI
Patterns of distribution of marine assemblages from rocky shores: evidence of relevant scales of variation
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a hierarchical sampling design to examine spatial patterns in assemblages of algae and invertebrates in midshore and lowshore habitats of rocky coasts in the Mediterranean Sea.
Journal ArticleDOI
Spatial variation in the distribution of stream invertebrates: implications of patchiness for models of community organization
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the variation in abundances of stream animals living on stones across a range of spatial scales and found significant variation in faunal densities may occur over small spatial scales, such as those represented by groups of stones.
References
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Pseudoreplication and the Design of Ecological Field Experiments
TL;DR: Suggestions are offered to statisticians and editors of ecological journals as to how ecologists' under- standing of experimental design and statistics might be improved.