2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Studies on body size-density relationships in animal communities
| Project/Area Number |
14340246
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
生態
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| Research Institution | KYUSHU UNIVERCITY |
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Principal Investigator |
TOKESHI Mutsunori Kyushu University, Faculty of Sciences, Professor, 大学院理学研究院, 教授 (30291983)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2005
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| Keywords | body size-density relationships / species-abundance relationships |
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| Research Abstract |
1. Body size-density relationships and species-abundance relationships were studied involving theoretical an empirical analyses, mainly using data on animal communities.
2. The neutral theory of biodiversity was examined from theoretical and conceptual points of view and some issues were raised about its applicability to biodiversity studies.
3. Body size-density relationships and species-abundance relationships were analyzed with data on stream benthic assemblages from central Europe and the UK. Species-rich stream communities displayed size-scaling relationships that were mediated by resource fragmentation processes. An attempt was made to derive an extension of the allometric and metabolic scaling theory by integrating resource fragmentation mechanisms. The result is a fractal-like size-distribution of resources, as a function of body size that explains observed energetic scaling relationships.
4. The effects of habitat complexity on benthic assemblages were experimentally analyzed. Species abundance patterns observed at different times of year showed little systematic variation with levels of habitat complexity but largely followed the patterns expected from, or lying in between, the Random Assortment model and the Random Fraction model.
5. Patterns of species/abundance-area relationships were experimentally investigated in a stone-associated molluscan community on a subtropical boulder shore. The study demonstrated the significance of scale variance/invariance in species/abundance-area relationships even within relatively small spatial scales of habitat.
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