10.5061/DRYAD.93CT6
Xiao, Xiao
Utah State University
University of Maine
O'Dwyer, James P.
University of Illinois System
White, Ethan P.
Utah State University
University of Florida
Data from: Comparing process-based and constraint-based approaches for
modeling macroecological patterns
Dryad
dataset
2015
model comparison
maximum entropy theory of ecology
2015-12-30T17:07:43Z
2015-12-30T17:07:43Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0962.1
48053 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Ecological patterns arise from the interplay of many different processes,
and yet the emergence of consistent phenomena across a diverse range of
ecological systems suggests that many patterns may in part be determined
by statistical or numerical constraints. Differentiating the extent to
which patterns in a given system are determined statistically, and where
it requires explicit ecological processes, has been difficult. We tackled
this challenge by directly comparing models from a constraint-based
theory, the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology (METE) and models from a
process-based theory, the size-structured neutral theory (SSNT). Models
from both theories were capable of characterizing the distribution of
individuals among species and the distribution of body size among
individuals across 76 forest communities. However, the SSNT models
consistently yielded higher overall likelihood, as well as more realistic
characterizations of the relationship between species abundance and
average body size of conspecific individuals. This suggests that the
details of the biological processes contain additional information for
understanding community structure that are not fully captured by the METE
constraints in these systems. Our approach provides a first step towards
differentiating between process- and constraint-based models of ecological
systems and a general methodology for comparing ecological models that
make predictions for multiple patterns.
METE_SSNT_codePython code to allow replication of "Comparing
process-based and constraint-based approaches for modeling macroecological
patterns" by Xiao Xiao, James O'Dwyer, and Ethan White.