The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology¶
Levin, S. A. (1992). The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology: The Robert H. MacArthur Award Lecture. Ecology, 73(6), 1943-1967.
Cited by¶
2 citations across 2 artifacts.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Scaling and Scale Dependence
- Allometry and Scaling Law describes the specific quantitative relationships between body size and physiological or ecological variables (e.g., metabolic rate scales as M^0.75 in animals), a tradition Levin (1992) framed as descriptive pattern that demands mechanistic explanation at the appropriate scale of process.
This sourceLandmark argument that pattern and scale form the central problem in ecology, with quantitative descriptive relationships (such as allometric laws) requiring mechanistic explanations operating at scales different from those at which the pattern is observed.
Supported in partVerified against the publisher's abstract
Levin's own abstract states that observed patterns require mechanistic explanation and that those mechanisms typically operate at scales other than the pattern's; it says nothing about allometry or an M^0.75 exponent.
“The key to prediction and understanding lies in the elucidation of mechanisms underlying observed patterns. Typically, these mechanisms operate at different scales than those on which the patterns are observed”
- Allometry and Scaling Law describes the specific quantitative relationships between body size and physiological or ecological variables (e.g., metabolic rate scales as M^0.75 in animals), a tradition Levin (1992) framed as descriptive pattern that demands mechanistic explanation at the appropriate scale of process.
Mechanisms¶
- Ecological Scale Review
- Its failure mode is a scale mismatch within the review itself: sampling at the wrong grain or extent and therefore inferring the wrong characteristic scale, a version of the problem of pattern and scale that the discipline was built to confront.
This sourceIdentifies pattern and scale as a central ecological problem and examines characteristic variability across spatial, temporal, and organizational scales.
- Its failure mode is a scale mismatch within the review itself: sampling at the wrong grain or extent and therefore inferring the wrong characteristic scale, a version of the problem of pattern and scale that the discipline was built to confront.
Verification¶
Does it exist? Confirmed. This work's DOI resolves to a registered record, which fixes its identity. That is all it fixes.
Does it back the claim? Read against the text for 1 of 2 citations: 1 supported in part. Each verdict is shown under its citation below, with what in the work backs the sentence.
Support is checked per citation rather than per work — the same source can be cited soundly in one article and wrongly in another. Per-citation recording began recently, so a citation with no recorded check is a gap in the record rather than evidence it went unchecked.
See how references were verified.
Registry ID ref:bc2127b6761f · see in the full table