The Application Of Fractal Geometry To Ecology Essay -- essays researc

The Application of Fractal Geometry to Ecology Abstract New insights into the natural world are just a few of the results from the use of fractal geometry. Examples from population and landscape ecology are used to illustrate the usefulness of fractal geometry to the field of ecology. The advent of the computer age played an important role in the development and acceptance of fractal geometry as a valid new discipline. New insights gained from the application of fractal geometry to ecology include: understanding the importance of spatial and temporal scales; the relationship between landscape structure and movement pathways; an increased understanding of landscape structures; and the ability to more accurately model landscapes and ecosystems. Using fractal dimensions allows ecologists to map animal pathways without creating an unmanageable deluge of information. Computer simulations of landscapes provide useful models for gaining new insights into the coexistence of species. Although many ecologists have found fractal geometry to be an extremely useful tool, not all concur. With all the new insights gained through the appropriate application of fractal geometry to natural sciences, it is clear that fractal geometry a useful and valid tool. New insight into the natural world is just one of the results of the increasing popularity and use of fractal geometry in the last decade. What are fractals and what are they good for? Scientists in a variety of disciplines have been trying to answer this question for the last two decades. Physicists, chemists, mathematicians, biologists, computer scientists, and medical researchers are just a few of the scientists that have found uses for fractals and fractal geometry. Ecologists have found fractal geometry to be an extremely useful tool for describing ecological systems. Many population, community, ecosystem, and landscape ecologists use fractal geometry as a tool to help define and explain the systems in the world around us. As with any scientific field, there has been some dissension in ecology about the appropriate level of study. For example, some organism ecologists think that anything larger than a single organism obscures the reality with too much detail. On the other hand, some ecosystem ecologists believe that looking at anything less than an entire ecosystem will not gi... ...l Geometry is not the geometry of nature. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 25:6:967-981. Shibusawa, S. 1994. Modeling the branching growth fractal pattern of the maize root system. Plant and Soil. 165: 339-347. Simberloff, D., P. Betthet, V. Boy, S. H. Cousins, M.-J. Fortin, R. Goldburg, L. P. Lefkovitch, B. Ripley, B. Scherrer, and D. Tonkyn. 1987. Novel statistical analyses in terrestrial animal ecology: dirty data and clean questions. pp. 559- 572 in Developments in Numerical Ecology. P. Legendre and L. Legendre, eds. NATO ASI Series. Vol. G14. Springer, Berlin. Turner, M. G. 1989. Landscape ecology; the effect of pattern on process. Annual Rev. Ecological Syst. 20:171-197. Vedyushkin, M. A. 1993. Fractal properties of forest spatial structure. Vegetatio. 113: 65-70. Voss, R. F. 1988. Fractals in Nature: From Characterization to Simulation. pp. 21- 70. in The Science of Fractal Images. H.-O. Peitgen and D. Saupe, eds. Springer- Verlag, New York. Wiens, J. A., Crist, T. O., Milne, B. 1993. On quantifying insect movements. Environmental Entomology. 22(4): 709-715. Thomsen, D. E. 1980. Making music--Fractally. Science News. 117:187-190. The Application Of Fractal Geometry To Ecology Essay -- essays researc The Application of Fractal Geometry to Ecology Abstract New insights into the natural world are just a few of the results from the use of fractal geometry. Examples from population and landscape ecology are used to illustrate the usefulness of fractal geometry to the field of ecology. The advent of the computer age played an important role in the development and acceptance of fractal geometry as a valid new discipline. New insights gained from the application of fractal geometry to ecology include: understanding the importance of spatial and temporal scales; the relationship between landscape structure and movement pathways; an increased understanding of landscape structures; and the ability to more accurately model landscapes and ecosystems. Using fractal dimensions allows ecologists to map animal pathways without creating an unmanageable deluge of information. Computer simulations of landscapes provide useful models for gaining new insights into the coexistence of species. Although many ecologists have found fractal geometry to be an extremely useful tool, not all concur. With all the new insights gained through the appropriate application of fractal geometry to natural sciences, it is clear that fractal geometry a useful and valid tool. New insight into the natural world is just one of the results of the increasing popularity and use of fractal geometry in the last decade. What are fractals and what are they good for? Scientists in a variety of disciplines have been trying to answer this question for the last two decades. Physicists, chemists, mathematicians, biologists, computer scientists, and medical researchers are just a few of the scientists that have found uses for fractals and fractal geometry. Ecologists have found fractal geometry to be an extremely useful tool for describing ecological systems. Many population, community, ecosystem, and landscape ecologists use fractal geometry as a tool to help define and explain the systems in the world around us. As with any scientific field, there has been some dissension in ecology about the appropriate level of study. For example, some organism ecologists think that anything larger than a single organism obscures the reality with too much detail. On the other hand, some ecosystem ecologists believe that looking at anything less than an entire ecosystem will not gi... ...l Geometry is not the geometry of nature. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 25:6:967-981. Shibusawa, S. 1994. Modeling the branching growth fractal pattern of the maize root system. Plant and Soil. 165: 339-347. Simberloff, D., P. Betthet, V. Boy, S. H. Cousins, M.-J. Fortin, R. Goldburg, L. P. Lefkovitch, B. Ripley, B. Scherrer, and D. Tonkyn. 1987. Novel statistical analyses in terrestrial animal ecology: dirty data and clean questions. pp. 559- 572 in Developments in Numerical Ecology. P. Legendre and L. Legendre, eds. NATO ASI Series. Vol. G14. Springer, Berlin. Turner, M. G. 1989. Landscape ecology; the effect of pattern on process. Annual Rev. Ecological Syst. 20:171-197. Vedyushkin, M. A. 1993. Fractal properties of forest spatial structure. Vegetatio. 113: 65-70. Voss, R. F. 1988. Fractals in Nature: From Characterization to Simulation. pp. 21- 70. in The Science of Fractal Images. H.-O. Peitgen and D. Saupe, eds. Springer- Verlag, New York. Wiens, J. A., Crist, T. O., Milne, B. 1993. On quantifying insect movements. Environmental Entomology. 22(4): 709-715. Thomsen, D. E. 1980. Making music--Fractally. Science News. 117:187-190.