ConserveOnline - Spatially Continuous Analysis of River Fish Distribution and Physical Habitat, by Christian Torgersen

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Spatially Continuous Analysis of River Fish Distribution and Physical Habitat, by Christian Torgersen

By Web Admin on 6/5/2007 | Keyword(s): Session ii: existing approaches

Better pattern detection in riverine ecology requires not just a transfer of technology or an incorporation of spatial data into sophisticated statistical analyses but also a change in perception that will lead to new ways of visualizing and analyzing riverine ecosystems in a spatially continuous manner. Despite the advances that have resulted both from recent increased interest in heterogeneity and scale and from evermore powerful computer analysis and simulation techniques, fish ecologists still attempt to detect patterns by inferring associations and relationships from a selection of representative sites. These habitat relationships are then used to extrapolate broad-scale continuous patterns from spatially limited data. In this presentation, I propose that in order to detect–and ultimately predict–scale- and context-dependent patterns, we have to start looking for patterns in animal distribution the way we look for patterns with our eyes. I will describe new approaches for detecting spatial patterns in river systems through synoptic field sampling, spatially continuous surveys, remote sensing, and geostatistical analysis, and I will illustrate how increasing the scope (i.e., the ratio of sampling extent to grain size) of data collection can lead to greater power and flexibility to evaluate and predict ecological patterns and processes at multiple scales.

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