Scaling below the Surface: The Influence of Observation Scale on Fish Biodiversity on Coral Reefs
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The components of the observation scale, grain and extent, have considerable influence on the observed species richness within a given area. This study delves into the impact of grain and extent on the observed species richness of coral reef fish at various locations in Sri Lanka and Bermuda using a speciffic data collection design allowing manipulation of these scale components in an observational experiment. The analysis was done using a newly developed Python-based data analysis package. Our findings indicate that these factors show a weak yet consistent influence on species richness across diverse locations even for such highly-mobile organisms as fish associated with coral reefs. Their significance is more pronounced over large areas when compared to sessile organisms. This study introduces a fresh perspective on the species richness of coral reef fish across distinct locations, addressing the current challenges in comparisons arising from differring sample size among data collection protocols. Furthermore, it provides a novel tool for advancing research in the realm of coral reef fish ecology. |
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