Scales of spatial patterns of distribution of intertidal invertebrates

Few comparative studies of spatial patterns at different scales have examined several species in the same habitat or the same species over a range of habitats. Therefore, variability in patterns among species or among habitats has seldom been documented. This study quantifies spatial patterns of a suite of intertidal snails and a species of barnacle using a range of statistical techniques. Variability in densities was quantified from the scale of adjacent quadrats (over a distance of centimeters) to tens of kilometers. Significant differences in abundances occurred primarily at two spatial scales. Small-scale differences were found at the scales of centimeters or 1–2 m and, for many species on many shores, these accounted for most of the variability in abundances from place to place. These are likely to be determined by behavioural responses to small-scale patches of microhabitat. Large-scale differences in abundance were also found in most species at the scale of hundreds of meters alongshore. These are likely to be due to variation in recruitment (and/or mortality) because of limited dispersal by adults of these species. There was little or no additional variation among shores, separated by tens of kilometers, than was shown among patches of shore separated by hundreds of meters. Identification of the scale(s) at which significant differences in abundance are found focus attention on the processes (and the scales at which these processes operate) that influence patterns of distribution and abundance. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of various procedures are discussed.     

Optimising human community sizes

We examine community longevity as a function of group size in three historical, small scale agricultural samples. Community sizes of 50, 150 and 500 are disproportionately more common than other sizes; they also have greater longevity. These values mirror the natural layerings in hunter-gatherer societies and contemporary personal networks. In addition, a religious ideology seems to play an important role in allowing larger communities to maintain greater cohesion for longer than a strictly secular ideology does. The differences in optimal community size may reflect the demands of different ecologies, economies and social contexts, but, as yet, we have no explanation as to why these numbers seem to function socially so much more effectively than other values.     

Fractal dimensions of metropolitan area road networks and the impacts on the urban built environment

The fractal dimension of road networks emerges as a measure of the complexity of road transport infrastructures. In this study, we measured fractal dimensions of both the geometric form (i.e., the layout of the roads) and structure hierarchy (i.e., the connections among roads) of the major road networks in the largest 95 U.S. metro areas. We explained the causes of the variances in these fractal dimensions, especially the one for structure hierarchy. Further, we hypothesized the impacts of these fractal dimensions on the urban built environment and validated our hypotheses using path analysis. We found that a larger geometric fractal dimension (D_g) shows a more uniform distribution of roads over the metro area, which provides the accessibility to suburban areas and incentives to low-density development. A larger structural fractal dimension (D_s) indicates the highly-connected roads (e.g., highways) tend to join to other highly-connected roads so that most roads can be reached by a small number of neighboring roads (i.e., the small-world phenomenon). As D_s increases and the small-world effect become more significant, daily vehicle miles traveled per capita (DVMT/Cap) decline. However, D_s should be kept low in order to reduce the DVMT/Cap as population size increases. We consider that the low D_s can contribute to more mixed, polycentric and more uniform on an urban area-wide basis. Overall, higher D_g and D_s of the major road network in a metro area leads to higher per capita carbon emissions of transport, and lower quality of life as population increases. In the end, we conclude that fractal dimensions can provide valuable insight into the nature of the transportation land use nexus.     

西双版纳地区人工橡胶林生物量、固碳现状及潜力

选取西双版纳地区橡胶树适宜和次适宜种植区6个年龄段(5、9、14、19、23、26年生)的橡胶林,对其生长参数进行了实测,利用生物量回归方程得到了橡胶林的生物量和固碳量,并探讨了橡胶林的固碳潜力。结果表明:西双版纳适宜种植区橡胶林地上净初级生产力(ANPP)在19年生时达到最大,为(16.22±3.47)t.hm-2.a-1;次适宜种植区橡胶林ANPP在23年生时达到最大,为(8.65±3.46)t.hm-2.a-1。适宜和次适宜种植区橡胶林地上总生物量(WA)最大值分别为205.82和139.76t.hm-2。对应的生物量内禀增长率分别为21%和14%。适宜和次适宜种植区橡胶林碳储量最大值分别达123.49和83.86tC.hm-2,均明显低于西双版纳热带季节雨林生态系统的总固碳量(311.41±66.46)tC.hm-2,适宜种植区橡胶林固碳量略高于世界热带森林的平均水平(121tC.hm-2)。截至2008年,西双版纳橡胶林总固碳量约为16.54×106tC。     

Spatial patterns and scaling behaviors of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) distributions and their environment

Fractal geometry and other multi-scale analyses have become popular tools for investigating spatial patterns of animal distributions in heterogeneous environments. In theory, changes in patterns of animal distributions with changes in scale reflect transitions between the controlling influences of one environmental factor or process over another. In an effort to find linkages between Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and their environment, the objective of this study was to determine if the spatial distribution of Steller sea lions at sea displayed similar scaling properties to the variation of two environmental features, including bathymetry and sea surface temperature (SST). Additionally, distributions of Steller sea lion point patterns were examined with respect to measurements of bathymetric complexity. From February 2000 to May 2004, satellite transmitters were deployed on 10 groups of juvenile Steller sea lions (n=52) at eight different locations within the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Indices of fractal dimension were calculated for each group of sea lions using a unit square box-counting method, whereas indices of bathymetry and SST patchiness were derived by conducting a variance ratio analysis over the same scales. Distributions of Steller sea lions at sea displayed self-similar fractal patterns, suggesting that individuals were distributed in a continuous hierarchical set of clumps within clumps across scales, and foraging behavior was likely influenced by a scale invariant mechanism. Patterns of bathymetric variability also were self-similar, whereas patterns of SST variability were scale dependent and failed to retain self-similar spatial structure at larger scales. These results indicate that the distributions of Steller sea lions at sea were more influenced by bathymetry than SST at the scales examined, but scale-dependent patterns in the distribution of Steller sea lions at sea or linkages with SST may have been apparent if analyses were conducted at finer spatial scales.     

Fractal analysis of surface electromyography signals: A novel power spectrum-based method

This paper presents a novel power spectrum-based method for fractal analysis of surface electromyography signals. This method, named the bi-phase power spectrum method, provides a bi-phase power-law which represents a multi-scale statistically self-affine signal. This form of statistical self-affinity provides an accurate approximation for stochastic signals originating from a strong non-linear combination of a number of similar distributions, such as surface electromyography signals which are formed by the summation of a number of single muscle fiber action potentials. This power-law is characterized by a set of spectral indicators, which are related to distributional and geometrical characteristics of the electromyography signal’s interference pattern. These novel spectral indicators are capable of sensing the effects of motor units’ recruitment and shape separately by exploiting the geometry of the interference pattern. The bi-phase power spectrum method is compared to geometrical techniques and the 1/f^α approach for fractal analysis of electromyography signals. The extracted indicators using the bi-phase power spectrum method are evaluated in the context of force and joint angle and the results of a human study are presented. Results demonstrate that the bi-phase power spectrum method provides reliable information, consisting of components capable of sensing force and joint angle effects separately, which could be used as complementary information for confounded conventional measures.     

两种分形维数在颞下颌关节音分析中的应用

颞下颌关节（TMJ）是人体最复杂的关节之一,有着复杂的生理功能,颞下颌关节音（颚开合时TMJ产生的声音）含有丰富的有关TMJ状态的信息。利用非线性动力学的混沌与分形理论对健康人和颞下颌关节内紊乱（TMD）患者的TMJ音信号进行了分析。分别计算其波形维和相关维。结果表明,健康人TMJ音信号的两种分形维数值都明显高于TMD患者。提示,以TMJ音信号的分形维数值作为TMJ损伤及病变的一个指标是有意义的。     

基于分形理论的木材顺纹理断裂研究

研究5种木材顺纹理断裂性质和断面分形特征,测量断口表面的分形维数,建立了分形维数与断裂韧性间的关系.研究结果表明：（1）不同树种因其构造差异对裂纹扩展的阻力不同,这种差异同样也表现在材料断裂表面的形貌特征上;（2）木材顺纹理断裂韧性K（IC）^（TL）与分形维数D之间有很高的正比关系：y=0.036x＋2.162,（R^2=0.98）,揭示了断口分形维数与材料性能之间的内在联系.     

基于盒维数的心音信号分形特征研究

在传统盒维数的基础上,从尺度变化的角度,提出一种计算心音信号时域波形分形维数的新的二进盒维数算法,并给出了算法思想和估算方法;然后用该方法对正常心音和几种典型的病态心音的分形维数进行计算,并对其分形特征进行了研究．研究结果表明：心音信号具有明显的分形特征,分形维数能够反映心音信号的复杂程度,并且能够明显地区分正常心音和病态心音．