LECTURE 9 SCALE WILDLIFE MANAGMENT

Ecological Neighborhoods

concept describing genera procedures for determining how organisms respond to landscape heterogeneity (neighborhood is defined by movement)

properties of ecological neighborhoods

1. A specific ecological process

2. timescale appropriate to that process

3. spatial activity of an organism during that time

organism-centric approach

addresses scale by incorporating a species idiosyncratic view of the world based on animal size

organism-centric approach equation

maximum body length + lifespan = spatial extension of organism

what theory expands on the organism-centric approach?

network theory

network theory

theory says that we store related ideas in separate categories, or files, called nodes

multiscale approaches

often best at dealing with widespread ecological complexity

when is the multiscale approach most commonly used?

most common in disease ecology

spatial context

landscape structure and composition of an area surrounding a study site

how does spatial context advance ecological neighborhoods?

the landscape surrounding a used resource provided the environmental context for understanding organismal response to that resource

domains of scale

- provides a leeway in selecting scale; you don't have to concreate select the appropriate scale from the jump

- if there is a pattern at every scale, how is one to find trends?

unappreciated impediments

attributes of scale are insufficient by themselves to understand animal responses to changing resource reflected by changing landscapes (number system mismatch)

number system mismatch

unavoidable structural mismatches between large and small number systems in regards to statistical analyses

what are the issues with big data, repeatability, and reliability

volume, variety, velocity, veracity, and value

volume

the crude amount of data; the larger the volume the harder to validate

variety

having heterogeneity of sources for data; data is collected in different ways and have different variances associated with them

velocity

the speed of generation of data; being mindful of the temporal scale of data collection (large scale problems like climate change)

veracity

data quality; how do you ensure that the data has been collected to the highest standard

value

ties all points together; what do we actually get out of/learn from the data

What is scale defined as in wildlife management?

A metric that refers to the spatial or temporal dimensions of an object, pattern, or process.

What are the three components of the threefold problem of scale?

Extrapolation, number system mismatch, and big data sets.

How is extrapolation characterized in past wildlife management?

Past managers often collected small scale data that was spatially site-specific and temporally short-lived.

When did the paradigm shift in applying scaling theory to management begin?

In the 1980s (prior to this it had been used for physiology and developmental biology).

Scaling theory

Refers to how a system changes when its size changes; looks at the issue of perspective in relation to the size of a system.

Isometry

A one to one change where data can be extrapolated because if the system changes in size, the data changes consistently.

Negative allometry

A condition where the variable gets proportionally smaller as the system increases.

Positive allometry

A condition where, as the size of a system changes, the variable gets proportionally larger.

What are the two methods of scaling theory?

Hierarchy theory (traditional) and graph/network theory (new).

Hierarchy theory

A top down or bottom up approach to causality that serves as the basis of much ecological theory.

1st order resource selection

The geographical range of a species.

2nd order resource selection

The home range of an individual of a species.

3rd order resource selection

Areas within the home range the individual spends the most time at; core areas.

4th order resource selection

The resources an individual uses.

Triadic schemes

Schemes that take a sliver out of the hierarchy as a focal level and examine interactions with the levels above and below that level of focus.

What is the overall goal of graph/network theory in wildlife ecology?

To link change in landscape pattern over time with animal responses.

Heterarchies

Incorporating hierarchies and network approach into research in order to get a more dynamic view of the system, recognizing different but equally valid observation sets or ways of viewing complex problems.

Landscape extent vs. Landscape resolution

Landscape extent gives the areal extent of the landscape, while landscape resolution denotes the finest level of detail.

Grain

The amount of detail within a single pixel of a photograph.

How do white-tailed deer and mule deer distribute relative to each other across different spatial scales?

At large spatial scales they are sympatric, but at the home range level (3rd order) they are allopatric and come into contact very rarely.

On a space-time diagram, which axes correspond to space and time?

The space axis is the abscissa and the time axis is the ordinate.

Strommel diagram

A 3D dimensional space-time diagram.

According to the lecture, what percentage of ecological studies last more than 5 years?

$< 2\%$ of ecological studies last more than 5 years.

Aggregation error

When a process changes when moved from one hierarchical level to another; transmutations.

Disjunctive connections

A disconnect between the scale that characterizes animal movements and processes, and their perception and measurement.