Intrinsic Scaling Complexity in Animal Dispersion and Abundance

Abstract

Ecological theory related to animal distribution and abundance is at present incomplete and to some extent naïve. We suggest that this may partly be due to a long tradition in the field of model development for choosing mathematical and statistical tools for convenience rather than applicability. Real population dynamics are influenced by nonlinear interactions, nonequilibrium conditions, and scaling complexity from system openness. Thus, a coherent theory for individual‐, population‐, and community‐level processes should rest on mathematical and statistical methods that explicitly confront these issues in a manner that satisfies principles from statistical mechanics for complex systems. Instead, ecological theory is traditionally based on premises from simpler statistical mechanical theory for memory‐free, scale‐specific, random‐walk, and diffusion processes, while animals from many taxa generally express strategic homing, site fidelity, and conspecific attraction in direct violation of primary model assumptions. Thus, the main challenge is to generalize the theory for memory‐free physical, many‐body systems to include a more realistic memory‐influenced framework that better satisfies ecological realism. We describe, simulate, and discuss three testable aspects of a model for multiscaled habitat use at the individual level: (1) scale‐free distribution of movement steps under influence of self‐reinforcing site fidelity, (2) fractal spatial dispersion of intra–home range relocations, and (3) nonasymptotic expansion of observed intra–home range patch use with increasing set of relocations. Examples of literature data apparently supporting the conjecture that multiscaled, strategic space use is widespread among many animal taxa are also described. We suggest that the present approach, which provides a protocol to test for influence from scale‐free, memory‐dependent habitat use at the individual level, may also point toward a guideline for development of a generalized theoretical framework for complex population kinetics and spatiotemporal population dynamics.