David Storch, Center for Theoretical Study
SFI News:
David Storch will speak at 12:15 p.m. today, July 29 in the Noyce Conference Room at the Santa Fe Institute.
Abstract: Looking for invariances proved to be very successful way of scientific inquiry, especially in physics. In ecology, little effort has been devoted to systematic exploration of invariances or to using invariances as a criterion to reveal generality of the patterns. There are several patterns in ecology that are assumed to be universal, namely spatial scaling of biodiversity (the species-area relationship), the frequency distribution of species’ abundances, and large-scale climate-related trends of diversity (e.g. latitudinal decrease of species richness from the equator to the poles).
The assumed universality of these patterns implies that they should be invariant against changes in taxonomic delimitation of the study group and/or spatial scale; otherwise they would apply only for a particular taxonomic category and/or particular location and spatial scale. However, I will show that classical forms of macroecological patterns (e.g. power-law species-area relationship or lognormal species-abundance distribution) cannot be invariant against changing taxonomic level or scale, so they cannot be really universal.
Similarly, alternative patterns predicted using recent macroecological theories (e.g. Maximum Entropy theory) lack universality, i.e. they depend on particular delimitation of study groups. However, the universal form of macroecological patterns can be theoretically derived on the basis of their assumed invariance or their particular variation with scale or taxonomic scope. The decomposition of the patterns using variously delimited taxa and an analysis of taxonomic structure of the patterns provides important insights into their nature and possible causes, regardless of whether they are truly universal or not.
Note: We are unable to accommodate members of the public for SFI’s limited lunch service; you’re welcome to bring your own.
