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Appropriate spatial scales for studies of reef‐fish ecology
Author(s) -
SALE PETER F.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1998.tb00721.x
Subject(s) - reef , coral reef , scale (ratio) , spatial ecology , ecology , compromise , fish <actinopterygii> , coral reef fish , environmental science , environmental resource management , computer science , geography , fishery , cartography , biology , sociology , social science
Coral‐reef systems are conspicuously multi‐scalar, with scales set by reef‐fish biology, by ecological processes that act upon them and by the architectural patchiness of the coral‐reef environment in which they reside. Empirical ecological studies cannot be executed in a way that is independent of spatial scale, and results are inextricably scale‐dependent. Further, although the question asked and the measurements planned will suggest appropriate scales, it is often the case in these multi‐scalar systems that there is no single correct scale at which to sample. Instead, there must be a process of compromise in designing projects, an awareness of scale in implementing them and careful consideration of the scale‐dependence of the results. Some useful principles are presented to help with the process of project design and interpretation.