The quest for a null model for macroecological patterns: geometry of species distributions at multiple spatial scales

Abstract

Here, we propose a new model for macroecological patterns explicitly considering aggregated species distributions on multiple spatial scales, the property which lies behind all spatial macroecological patterns. We used the idea that we term 'generalized fractals'.

Keywords

• Biodiversity
• biogeography
• generalized fractals
• Hubbell’s neutral theory
• macroecology
• null models
• scale
• species spatial aggregation
• species-abundance distribution
• species–area relationship