Journal article
Using Fractals to Describe Ecologically Relevant Patterns in Distributions of Large Rocks in Streams
GK Dwyer, CR Cummings, SP Rice, J Lancaster, BJ Downes, L Slater, RE Lester
Water Resources Research | AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION | Published : 2021
DOI: 10.1029/2021WR029796
Abstract
Measuring the physical complexity of habitats or ecological resources is often achieved using system-specific methods that make comparisons across ecosystems difficult. One measure that is applicable across multiple ecosystems and scales is the fractal dimension, which has the benefit of generality as well as potential scale independence. This study evaluated the use of box-counting and entropy fractal dimensions for characterizing the complexity of emergent rock distributions in six streams across Scotland and Australia. Emergent rocks (ER) are important hydraulic features and ecological resources, including as oviposition sites for aquatic insects and cover for fish. We completed fractal a..
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Awarded by UK Research and Innovation
Funding Acknowledgements
Thank you, Vicky Mak and Korbinian Strimmer, for expert advice on calculating fractal dimensions. For advice on earlier versions of the manuscript, the authors thank Galen Holt. For assistance collecting field data, we thank Alena Glaister, Galen Holt, Richard Mason and Harry Sanders. Thank you also to the various landowners for allowing access to Scottish field sites and to Peter Grant for facilitating access to Snobs Ck. Australian field work was carried out in conjunction with a Research Permit (No. 10007855) under the National Parks Act (Australia), from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Victoria). This research was supported by data that were originally funded by a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council, UK (NE/E004946/1) and a Discovery grant from the Australian Research Council (DP 160102262).