Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science

ISBN-13: 9780849327827 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 364 str.

Laurent Seuront

Opis

Ecologists sometimes have a less-than-rigorous background in quantitative methods, yet research within this broad field is becoming increasingly mathematical. Written in a step-by-step fashion, Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science provides scientists with a basic understanding of fractals and multifractals and the techniques for utilizing them when analyzing ecological phenomenon. With illustrations, tables, and graphs on virtually every page several in color this book is a comprehensive source of state-of-the-art ecological scaling and multiscaling methods at temporal and spatial scales, respectfully ranging from seconds to months and from millimeters to thousands of kilometers. It illustrates most of the data analysis techniques with real case studies often based on original findings. It also incorporates descriptions of current and new numerical techniques to analyze and deepen understanding of ecological situations and their solutions. Includes a Wealth of Applications and Examples This book also includes nonlinear analysis techniques and the application of concepts from chaos theory to problems of spatial and temporal patterns in ecological systems. Unlike other books on the subject, Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science is readily accessible to researchers in a variety of fields, such as microbiology, biology, ecology, hydrology, geology, oceanography, social sciences, and finance, regardless of their mathematical backgrounds. This volume demystifies the mathematical methods, many of which are often regarded as too complex, and allows the reader to access new and promising concepts, procedures, and related results."

Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science provides scientists with a basic understanding of fractals and multifractals and the techniques that utilize them in analyzing ecological phenomenon. These techniques are especially valuable for analyzing spatial data sets and physical-biological couplings at different spatial and/or temporal scales. Written in a step-by-step fashion, this volume demystifies the techniques, which are often regarded as too complex , and provides an intuitive as well as a formal view for a wide variety of ecological situations and their solutions.

Spis treści

About Geometries and Dimensions. Self-Similar Fractals. Self-Affine Fractals. Frequency Distribution Dimensions. Fractal-Related Concepts: Some Clarifications. Estimating Dimensions with Confidence. From Fractals to Multifractals.

O autorze

Laurent Seuront is a Professor in Biological Oceanography at the Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia) and a Senior Research Scientist at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (West Beach, Australia). Prior to his present position, he was a research fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science at the Tokyo University of Fisheries (1999-2000) and a research scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France (2001-2008). Among multiple awards, he recently received the CNRS Bronze Medal in France (2007) in recognition of his early career achievements, and a prestigious Australian Professorial Fellowship from the Australian Research Council.