Scale, ecological fallacy, and the river continuum concept

Concern over scale is not new, and it is not restricted to geographers. Spatial and temporal scaling is a conceptual and methodological problem for all sciences using geographic information. This paper teases out issues of scale and ecological fallacy from the literature and discusses how these issues influence the applicability of an influential theoretical framework in stream ecology, the River Continuum Concept (RCC). Investigators are faced with decisions regarding scale during sampling location selection, field data capture, and subsequent data interpretation. A thorough understanding of the heterogeneity of stream habitats and the life histories of the organisms being studied could enable investigators to make appropriate methodological choices with regard to sampling resolution and extent. It is crucial that investigators improve their ability to understand the consequences of aggregating and extrapolating data collected point samples in order to adequately evaluate ecological hypotheses operating over relatively broad spatial and temporal scales.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geology and Geography

Year dc:date.available

2000

Author dc:creator

• Childers, Hope M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Trevor M. Harris.
• Timothy A. Warner
• Benjamin M. Sstout

• Physical geography
• Ecology
• Environmental science

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/699

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1702