The study of fractals among ecologists/O estudo dos fractais entre os ecologos

Fractals seemed to have permeated most scientific fields, including ecology. In fact, biodiversity and ecological processes are affected by spatial complexity, and fractals can help understand patterns at multiple scales. In this paper we evaluated the main quantitative trends and the profile of eco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta Scientiarum. Biological Sciences (UEM) 2012, Vol.34 (1), p.41
Main Authors: Mormul, Roger Paulo, Padial, Andre Andrian
Format: Report
Language:Spanish
Subjects:
Developing countries
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Summary:Fractals seemed to have permeated most scientific fields, including ecology. In fact, biodiversity and ecological processes are affected by spatial complexity, and fractals can help understand patterns at multiple scales. In this paper we evaluated the main quantitative trends and the profile of ecology publications using fractals. Publications about fractals in Ecology experienced a high increase in the last two decades, and most articles were published in highly visible ecology journals. However, studies were authored mainly by US scientists, and researchers from developing countries had a minor contribution. In addition, studies were highly biased towards terrestrial environments, and empirical approaches were preferred. Keywords: fractal geometry, ecology, spatial complexity, scientometrics. Os fractais pareciam ter permeado a maioria das areas cientificas, incluindo a ecologia. De fato, a biodiversidade e os processos ecologicos sao afetados pela complexidade espacial, e os fractais podem ajudar a compreender esses padroes em multiplas escalas. Neste trabalho avaliaram-se as principais tendencias do perfil ecologico, bem como foram quantificadas as publicacoes utilizando fractais. Publicacao sobre fractais em ecologia sofreram grande aumento nas ultimas duas decadas e muitos artigos foram publicados em revistas de alta circulacao. No entanto, os estudos foram escritos, principalmente, por americanos, e os pesquisadores de paises em desenvolvimento tiveram contribuicao menor. Alem disso, os estudos foram desenvolvidos em sua maioria em ambientes terrestres, e as abordagens empiricas foram preferidas. Palavras-chave: geometria fractal, ecologia, complexidade espacial, cienciometria.
ISSN:1679-9283
DOI:10.4025/actascibiolsci.v34i1.7701