scholarly journals Surfing the biomass size spectrum: some remarks on history, theory, and application

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Gary Sprules ◽  
Lauren Emily Barth
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Nonlinear Models ◽  
Biomass Concentration ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biomass Spectra ◽  
Biomass Size Spectrum

Charles Elton introduced the “pyramid of numbers” in the late 1920s, but this remarkable insight into body-size dependent patterns in natural communities lay fallow until the theory of the biomass size spectrum was introduced by aquatic ecologists in the mid-1960s. They noticed that the summed biomass concentration of individual aquatic organisms was roughly constant across equal logarithmic intervals of body size from bacteria to the largest predators. These observations formed the basis for a theory of aquatic ecosystems, based on the body size of individual organisms, that revealed new insights into constraints on the structure of biological communities. In this review, we discuss the history of the biomass spectrum and the development of underlying theories. We indicate how to construct biomass spectra from sample data, explain the mathematical relations among them, show empirical examples of their various forms, and give details on how to statistically fit the most robust linear and nonlinear models to biomass spectra. We finish by giving examples of biomass spectrum applications to production and fisheries ecology and offering recommendations to help standardize use of the biomass spectrum in aquatic ecology.

Controls on benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments – a modelling study

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 8189-8240 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Kelly-Gerreyn ◽  
T. R. Anderson ◽  
B. J. Bett ◽  
A. P. Martin ◽  
J. I. Kaariainen
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
General Observation ◽  
Size Spectra ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Biomass Spectra

Abstract. Factors controlling biomass distributions in marine benthic organisms (meio- to macro-fauna, 1 μg–32 mg wet weight) were investigated through observations and allometric modelling. Biomass (and abundance) size spectra were measured at three locations: the Faroe-Shetland Channel in the north-east Atlantic (FSC, water depth 1600 m, September 2000); the Fladen Ground in the North Sea (FG, 150 m, September 2000); and the hypoxic Oman Margin (OM, 500 m, September 2002) in the Arabian Sea. Biomass increased with body size through a power law at FG (allometric exponent, b = 0.16) and at FSC (b = 0.32), but less convincingly at OM (b was not significantly different from −1/4 or 0). Our results question the assumption that metazoan biomass spectra are bimodal in marine sediments. The model incorporated 16 metazoan size classes, as derived from the observed spectra, all reliant on a common detrital food pool. All physiological (ingestion, mortality, assimilation and respiration) parameters scaled to body size following optimisation to the data at each site, the resulting values being consistent within expectations from the literature. For all sites, body size related changes in mortality played the greatest role in determining the trend of the biomass size spectra. The body size trend in the respiration rate was most sensitive to allometry in both mortality and ingestion, and the trend in body size spectra of the production: biomass ratio was explained by the allometry in ingestion. Our results suggest that size-scaling mortality and ingestion are important factors determining the distribution of biomass across the meiofauna to macrofauna size range in marine sedimentary communities, in agreement with the general observation that biomass tends to accumulates in larger rather than smaller size classes in these environments.

scholarly journals Allometry in desert ant locomotion (Cataglyphis albicans and Cataglyphis bicolor) – does body size matter?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Tross ◽  
Harald Wolf ◽  
Sarah Elisabeth Pfeffer
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Walking Speeds ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

Desert ants show a large range of adaptations to their habitats. They can reach extremely high running speeds, for example, to shorten heat stress during foraging trips. It has recently been examined how fast walking speeds are achieved in different desert ant species. It is intriguing in this context that some species exhibit distinct intraspecific size differences. We therefore performed a complete locomotion analysis over the entire size spectrum of the species Cataglyphis bicolor, and we compared this intraspecific data set with that of the allometrically similar species Cataglyphis albicans. Emphasis was on the allometry of locomotion: we considered the body size of each animal and analysed the data in terms of relative walking speed. Body size was observed to affect walking parameters, gait patterns and phase relations in terms of absolute walking speed. Unexpectedly, on a relative scale, all ants tended to show the same overall locomotion strategy at slow walking speeds, and significant differences occurred only between C. albicans and C. bicolor at high walking speeds. Our analysis revealed that C. bicolor ants use the same overall strategy across all body sizes, with small ants reaching the highest walking speeds (up to 80 body lengths s−1) by increasing their stride lengths and incorporating aerial phases. By comparison, C. albicans reached high walking speeds mainly by a high synchrony of leg movement, lower swing phase durations and higher stride frequencies ranging up to 40 Hz.

scholarly journals Macroscale patterns of oceanic zooplankton composition and size structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoela C. Brandão ◽  
Fabio Benedetti ◽  
Séverine Martini ◽  
Yawouvi Dodji Soviadan ◽  
Jean-Olivier Irisson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
The Body ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Zooplankton Abundance

AbstractOcean plankton comprise organisms from viruses to fish larvae that are fundamental to ecosystem functioning and the provision of marine services such as fisheries and CO2 sequestration. The latter services are partly governed by variations in plankton community composition and the expression of traits such as body size at community-level. While community assembly has been thoroughly studied for the smaller end of the plankton size spectrum, the larger end comprises ectotherms that are often studied at the species, or group-level, rather than as communities. The body size of marine ectotherms decreases with temperature, but controls on community-level traits remain elusive, hindering the predictability of marine services provision. Here, we leverage Tara Oceans datasets to determine how zooplankton community composition and size structure varies with latitude, temperature and productivity-related covariates in the global surface ocean. Zooplankton abundance and median size decreased towards warmer and less productive environments, as a result of changes in copepod composition. However, some clades displayed the opposite relationships, which may be ascribed to alternative feeding strategies. Given that climate models predict increasingly warmed and stratified oceans, our findings suggest that zooplankton communities will shift towards smaller organisms which might weaken their contribution to the biological carbon pump.

Structure of the Body-Size Spectrum of the Biomass in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Consequence of Allometry in Predator–Prey Interactions

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1308-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Thiebaux ◽  
L. M. Dickie
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Quadratic Term ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Basic Model ◽  
Energy Transfers ◽  
Allometric Functions

An equation describing predator–prey trophic energy transfers and production within the body-size spectrum of the biomass of aquatic ecosystems is formulated using allometric functions of body size. Its solution is the sum of two parts. One is a quadratic term that gives parabolic domes of biomass, in accordance with observations in nature. A second part, which seems not to have been recognized earlier, is a periodic function of log body size having significant potential for interpreting sample data reflecting ecosystem dynamics. The formulation is fitted to fish data from a small lake to demonstrate the applicability of the basic model to observations and to examine the scales of interaction of the measures of ecosystem dynamics that may be derived from them.

Body Size and Feeding Ecology as Alternatives to Taxonomy for the Study of Limnetic Zooplankton Community Structure

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1354-1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Gary Sprules ◽  
L. Blair Holtby
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Zooplankton Community ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Zooplankton Community Structure ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Zooplankton Communities

Three different characterizations of limnetic zooplankton communities from lakes of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario are compared with respect to their usefulness in limnological studies: a conventional taxonomic one, one based on the body size and feeding ecology of the organisms, and one based on image analysis of the particle size spectrum. In comparison with the taxonomic characterization, the ecological and image analysis characterizations reflect zooplankton community features which are more closely related to the efficiency and nature of energy flow through pelagic ecosystems. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that these features have stronger statistical relations to morphometric and hydrological properties of lakes. The ecological and image analyses are thus not only more useful in studies seeking to make predictions about lake function from lake type but actually require less time, money and expertise in the acquisition of zooplankton data. In comparisons of zooplankton communities from the disparate faunal regions of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario and southeast Asia, particularly Sri Lanka, more useful functional insights emerge from a body size-feeding ecology characterization than from a taxonomically based one. Key words: community structure, image analysis, Bruce Peninsula, tropical zooplankton, zoogeography, multivariate analysis

Temporal variation in body-size spectrum of biofilm-dwelling protozoa during the colonization process in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1113-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Guanjian Xu ◽  
Henglong Xu
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Yellow Sea ◽  
Northern China ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Yellow Sea ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Size Spectra ◽  
Colonization Period

As an inherent function of a community, body-size spectrum has been increasingly used as a useful indicator in global ecological research. The colonization dynamics of biofilm-dwelling protozoa with regard to body-size spectrum were studied based on a 1-month baseline survey in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Samples were collected at time intervals of 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days from depths of 1 and 3 m. A total of seven body-size ranks were identified based on a trait hierarchy. The individual abundance of the protozoa at each body-size rank was well fitted to the logistic model equation. The body-size spectra showed a clear shift in probability density during the colonization period at both depths. The multivariate approach demonstrated that the temporal dynamics in body-size spectra of the protozoa may be divided into initial (1 day), transitional (3–7 days) and stable (10–28 days) stages during the colonization period. These results provide useful information for ecological research and monitoring programmes using biofilm-dwelling protozoa in marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals How big should a mammal be? A macroecological look at mammalian body size over space and time

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1576) ◽  
pp. 2364-2378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felisa A. Smith ◽  
S. Kathleen Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Average Density ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
History Of ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Macroecology was developed as a big picture statistical approach to the study of ecology and evolution. By focusing on broadly occurring patterns and processes operating at large spatial and temporal scales rather than on localized and/or fine-scaled details, macroecology aims to uncover general mechanisms operating at organism, population, and ecosystem levels of organization. Macroecological studies typically involve the statistical analysis of fundamental species-level traits, such as body size, area of geographical range, and average density and/or abundance. Here, we briefly review the history of macroecology and use the body size of mammals as a case study to highlight current developments in the field, including the increasing linkage with biogeography and other disciplines. Characterizing the factors underlying the spatial and temporal patterns of body size variation in mammals is a daunting task and moreover, one not readily amenable to traditional statistical analyses. Our results clearly illustrate remarkable regularities in the distribution and variation of mammalian body size across both geographical space and evolutionary time that are related to ecology and trophic dynamics and that would not be apparent without a broader perspective.

Aspergillus Spondylodiscitis After Spinal Stenosis Surgery: A Case Report

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3 And 4) ◽  
pp. 155-160
Author(s):  
Mohsen Aghapoor ◽  
◽  
Babak Alijani Alijani ◽  
Mahsa Pakseresht-Mogharab ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Lumbar Pain ◽  
Case Presentation ◽  
Delay In Diagnosis ◽  
Death Case ◽  
Therapeutic Results ◽  
History Of ◽  
Probable Diagnosis

Background and Importance: Spondylodiscitis is an inflammatory disease of the body of one or more vertebrae and intervertebral disc. The fungal etiology of this disease is rare, particularly in patients without immunodeficiency. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of this disease can lead to complications and even death. Case Presentation: A 63-year-old diabetic female patient, who had a history of spinal surgery and complaining radicular lumbar pain in both lower limbs with a probable diagnosis of spondylodiscitis, underwent partial L2 and complete L3 and L4 corpectomy and fusion. As a result of pathology from tissue biopsy specimen, Aspergillus fungi were observed. There was no evidence of immunodeficiency in the patient. The patient was treated with Itraconazole 100 mg twice a day for two months. Pain, neurological symptom, and laboratory tests improved. Conclusion: The debridement surgery coupled with antifungal drugs can lead to the best therapeutic results.

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