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Environmental randomness underlies morphological complexity of colonial diatoms
Author(s) -
Passy S. I.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
functional ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2435
pISSN - 0269-8463
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00671.x
Subject(s) - biology , niche , benthic zone , diatom , ecology , colonialism , ecological niche , morphology (biology) , fractal dimension , fractal , zoology , habitat , mathematical analysis , mathematics , political science , law
Summary1 The morphology and distribution of six benthic colonial diatoms were investigated from the perspective of fractal geometry and stream ecology to test whether colonial complexity of benthic diatoms is associated with a tolerance to environmental variability, that is, if a random force, such as the unpredictability of current velocity, could be responsible for the development of a high morphological organization. 2 The fractal dimension of diatom colony perimeters ranged from 1·06 to 1·54, indicating a vast morphological variation from simple geometric shapes to very complex outlines. The niche breadth of the six colonial diatoms, defined from regression models of species abundance along a current velocity gradient, also showed a substantial variation, from 0·48 to 0·79 m s −1 . 3 There was a strong positive relationship between diatom morphological complexity and species niche breadth, suggesting that increased morphological complexity in colonial diatoms is a possible evolutionary strategy for survival in unpredictable environments.