Abstract
The inherent complexity of ecosystems presents formidable challenges to biologists interested in describing, modeling, and managing animal populations. Researchers recognize that a multiscale approach is required to elucidate the spatiotemporal components of ecosystem complexity and to understand animal movement patterns in natural landscapes. Because ecological complexity varies with scale, observations at multiple scales and multiscale approaches to data analysis are required. New approaches are required to characterize the scaling properties of animal distributions. Fractal geometry is particularly suitable for this task, as it explicitly takes a multiscale approach. The fractal dimension is used as a comparative index of self-similarity to test specific hypotheses related to how individuals and populations perceive landscapes. A number of approaches are available for exploring fractal phenomena and for estimating the fractal dimension.
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