scholarly journals Empirical Studies on the Visual Perception of Spatial Patterns in Choropleth Maps

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Schiewe

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 576
Author(s):  
Izabela Karsznia ◽  
Izabela Gołębiowska ◽  
Jolanta Korycka-Skorupa ◽  
Tomasz Nowacki

Thoughtful consideration of the enumeration unit size in choropleth map design is important to ensure the correct communication of spatial information. However, the enumeration unit size and its influence on pattern conveying in choropleth maps have not yet been the subject of in-depth empirical studies. This research aims to address this gap. We focused on the issue concerning whether the ability to recognize spatial patterns on an Equal Area Unit Map is related to the hexagonal enumeration unit size, defined by the number of pixels. The aim is to indicate the range of the enumeration unit sizes, namely, at what point the upper and lower borders of the range where the spatial patterns start, and where the end is visible and recognizable by users. To address this problem, we conducted an empirical study with 488 users. The results show that the enumeration unit size has an impact on the users’ spatial pattern recognition abilities. Choropleth maps with enumeration unit sizes of 26, 52, and 104 pixels were, in the majority, indicated by participants as those most suitable for indicating spatial patterns. This was in contrast to choropleth maps with enumeration unit sizes of 1664 and 3328 pixels, which users indicated as not being useful. However, there were some exceptions to this general finding. Thus, determining the optimal enumeration unit size is a challenging task, and requires further insightful investigations.



2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1902) ◽  
pp. 20190443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. G. Kirschel ◽  
Nathalie Seddon ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias

A long-held view in evolutionary biology is that character displacement generates divergent phenotypes in closely related coexisting species to avoid the costs of hybridization or ecological competition, whereas an alternative possibility is that signals of dominance or aggression may instead converge to facilitate coexistence among ecological competitors. Although this counterintuitive process—termed convergent agonistic character displacement—is supported by recent theoretical and empirical studies, the extent to which it drives spatial patterns of trait evolution at continental scales remains unclear. By modelling the variation in song structure of two ecologically similar species of Hypocnemis antbird across western Amazonia, we show that their territorial signals converge such that trait similarity peaks in the sympatric zone, where intense interspecific territoriality between these taxa has previously been demonstrated. We also use remote sensing data to show that signal convergence is not explained by environmental gradients and is thus unlikely to evolve by sensory drive (i.e. acoustic adaptation to the sound transmission properties of habitats). Our results suggest that agonistic character displacement driven by interspecific competition can generate spatial patterns opposite to those predicted by classic character displacement theory, and highlight the potential role of social selection in shaping geographical variation in signal phenotypes of ecological competitors.



Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (14) ◽  
pp. 1665-1677
Author(s):  
Iolanda Graepp-Fontoura ◽  
David Soeiro Barbosa ◽  
Luiz Fernando Costa Nascimento ◽  
Volmar Morais Fontoura ◽  
Adriana Gomes Nogueira Ferreira ◽  
...  

AbstractHuman visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) cases are important public health problems due to their zoonotic aspect, with high rates of morbidity and mortality in Brazil. The aim of this this study was to identify spatial patterns in both rates of HVL cases in Brazilian states during the period from 2006 to 2015. This is an ecological study, using geoprocessing tools to create choropleth maps, based on secondary data from open access platforms, to identify priority areas for control actions of the disease. Data were collected in 2017 and analysed according to the global and local Moran's I, using TerraView 4.2.2 software. Similar clusters were observed in neighbouring municipalities in thematic maps of HVL, suggesting spatial similarity in the distribution of the disease in humans mainly in the North and Northeast Regions, which concentrate the states with the highest rates of HVL. Heterogeneous spatial patterns were observed in the distribution of HVL, which show municipalities that need higher priority in the intensification of disease surveillance and control strategies.



2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. G. Kirschel ◽  
Nathalie Seddon ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias

AbstractA long-held view in evolutionary biology is that character displacement generates divergent phenotypes in closely related coexisting species to avoid the costs of hybridisation or ecological competition, whereas an alternative possibility is that signals of dominance or aggression may instead converge to facilitate coexistence among ecological competitors. Although this counter-intuitive process—termed convergent agonistic character displacement—is supported by recent theoretical and empirical studies, the extent to which it drives spatial patterns of trait evolution at continental scales remains unclear. By modeling variation in song structure of two ecologically similar species of Hypocnemis antbird across western Amazonia, we show that their territorial signals converge such that trait similarity peaks in the sympatric zone, where intense interspecific territoriality between these taxa has previously been demonstrated. We also use remote sensing data to show that signal convergence is not explained by environmental gradients and is thus unlikely to evolve by sensory drive (i.e. acoustic adaptation to the sound transmission properties of habitats). Our results suggest that agonistic character displacement driven by interspecific competition can generate spatial patterns opposite to those predicted by classic character displacement theory, and highlight the potential role of social selection in shaping geographical variation in signal phenotypes of ecological competitors.



2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Izabela Karsznia ◽  
Izabela Gołębiowska ◽  
Jolanta Korycka-Skorupa ◽  
Tomasz Nowacki



2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jochen Schiewe

Abstract. The primary purpose of choropleth maps is to display or even to emphasize special relationships or patterns in the spatial distribution of attribute values. However, because classification methods commonly used and implemented in software packages (such as equidistance, quantiles, Jenks, etc.) are data-driven, a preservation of such spatial patterns is not guaranteed. Instead of such a data-driven approach in the following a task-oriented procedure is pursued: For typical patterns (local and global extreme values, large value differences to neighbours, spatial clusters, hot/cold spots) specific algorithms have been developed, implemented and tested.



2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Ukhovskyi ◽  
N. B. Vydayko ◽  
G. B. Aliekseieva ◽  
M. V. Bezymennyi ◽  
I. M. Polupan ◽  
...  

Leptospirosis remains one of the most widespread natural-focal, zoonotic infectious diseases in the world and in Ukraine. Leptospirosis is enzootic in the entire territory of Ukraine. Cases of diseases are registered in all regions of Ukraine. We initiated a study of comparative analysis of territorial distribution of leptospirosis outbreaks among animals and incidence in humans in Ukraine covering the years 2009–2016 inclusive. This study of the incidence of leptospirosis in Ukraine shows a significant circulation of leptospirosis both among humans and animals. Among cattle herds in Ukraine the percentage of positive animals was found to be 4.2% of the surveyed population. The dominant serovars of Leptospira were kabura (12.4%) and polonica (9.5%). Positive reactions with other serovars were observed less frequently: tarassovi – 5.1%, bratislava – 4.9%, copenhageni – 4.1%, grippotyphosa – 2.4%, pomona – 1.1%, canicola – 1.0%. In pigs, the percentage of positive animals amounted to 3.2%, the dominant serovars of Leptospira were bratislava (29.1%) and copenhageni (25.1%). Positive reactions with other serovars were observed less frequently: tarassovi – 4.3%, canicola – 3.0%, pomona – 2.7%, grippotyphosa – 1.3%, polonica – 1.2%, kabura – 0.6%. In horses, the percentage of positive animals amounted to 9.5% of the surveyed population. The serological range of Leptospira in horses was as follows: copenhageni – 14.2%, bratislava – 12.1%, canicola – 6.8%, grippotyphosa – 4.8%, tarassovi – 4.7%, pomona – 2.1%, kabura – 1.4%, polonica – 1.3%. Analysis of the results of research indicates extensive circulation of leptospirosis among humans in Ukraine as evidenced by the percentage of humans positively responding to MAT – 12.1% of the studied samples. The etiological structure of leptospirosis cases includes all the 14 serovars of the diagnostic set. The basis of the etiological spectrum was the serovar copenhageni – 37.3%. The share of other serovars as the etiological factor of leptospirosis in humans was different in different spans of the considered period. Most frequently, those were kabura – 12.3%, grippotyphosa – 11.7%, canicola – 9.5%, pomona – 9.1%. We mapped annual incidence of leptospirosis in animals and humans. Choropleth maps of annual leptospirosis incidence and cluster maps show opposite spatial patterns for animals and humans. The highest human rates were in the western and central parts of the country while the highest animal rates were mainly in the eastern part.



2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 160073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Li ◽  
John H. Vandermeer ◽  
Ivette Perfecto

Spatial patterns in ecology can be described as reflective of environmental heterogeneity (exogenous), or emergent from dynamic relationships between interacting species (endogenous), but few empirical studies focus on the combination. The spatial distribution of the nests of Azteca sericeasur , a keystone tropical arboreal ant, is thought to form endogenous spatial patterns among the shade trees of a coffee plantation through self-regulating interactions with controlling agents (i.e. natural enemies). Using inhomogeneous point process models, we found evidence for both types of processes in the spatial distribution of A. sericeasur . Each year's nest distribution was determined mainly by a density-dependent relationship with the previous year's lagged nest density; but using a novel application of a Thomas cluster process to account for the effects of nest clustering, we found that nest distribution also correlated significantly with tree density in the later years of the study. This coincided with the initiation of agricultural intensification and tree felling on the coffee farm. The emergence of this significant exogenous effect, along with the changing character of the density-dependent effect of lagged nest density, provides clues to the mechanism behind a unique phenomenon observed in the plot, that of an increase in nest population despite resource limitation in nest sites. Our results have implications in coffee agroecological management, as this system provides important biocontrol ecosystem services. Further research is needed, however, to understand the effective scales at which these relationships occur.



Most of the research on the epistemology of perception has focused on visual perception. This is hardly surprising given that most of our knowledge about the world is attributable to our visual experiences. This edited volume is the first to instead focus on the epistemology of non-visual perception—hearing, touch, taste, and cross-sensory experiences. Drawing on recent empirical studies of emotion, perception, and decision-making, it breaks new ground on discussions of whether perceptual experience can yield justified beliefs and how to characterize those beliefs. The Epistemology of Non-Visual Perception explores questions not only related to traditional sensory perception, but also to proprioceptive, interoceptive, multisensory, and event perception, expanding traditional notions of the influence that conscious non-visual experience has on human behavior and rationality. Contributors investigate the role that emotions play in decision-making and agential perception and what this means for justifications of belief and knowledge. They analyze the notion that some sensory experiences, such as touch, have epistemic privilege over others, as well as perception’s relationship to introspection, and the relationship between action, perception, and belief. They engage with topics in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, exploring the role that artworks can play in providing us with perceptional knowledge of emotions. The essays collected here, written by top researchers in their respective fields, offer perspectives from a wide range of philosophical disciplines and will appeal to scholars interested in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and philosophical psychology, among other topics.





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