Macroecology 1261001 163412961 2007-10-09T21:07:00Z 202.36.179.66 '''Macroecology''' is the subfield of [[ecology]] that deals with the study of relationships between organisms and their [[natural environment|environment]] at large spatial scales to characterise and explain statistical patterns of abundance, distribution and diversity. The term was coined by [[James Brown (ecologist)|James Brown]] of the [[University of New Mexico]] and [[Brian Maurer]] of [[Michigan State University]] in a [[1989]] paper in ''Science''. Macroecology approaches the idea of studying [[ecosystems]] using a "top down" approach. It seeks understanding through the study of the properties of the system as a whole; [[Kevin Gaston]] and [[Tim Blackburn]] make the analogy to seeing the forest for the trees (literally). Macroecology examines how global development in climate change affect wild life populations. Classic ecological questions amenable to study through the techniques of macroecology include questions of [[species richness]], [[latitudinal gradients in species diversity]], the [[species-area curve]], range size, body size, and species abundance. For example, the relationship between abundance and range size (why species that maintain large local population sizes tend to be widely distributed, while species that are less abundant tend to have restricted ranges) has received much attention. ==References== *Brown, J.H and B.A. Maurer. 1989. Macroecology: The division of food and space among species on continents. ''Science'' 243: 1145-1150 *Brown, J.H. 2000. ''Macroecology''. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-07614-8 *Gaston, K.J. and T.M. Blackburn. 2000. ''Pattern and Process in Macroecology''. Blackwell Science. ISBN 0-632-05653-3 ==External links== * [http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1466-822X&site=1 ''Global Ecology and Biogeography''] - an important journal of macroecology * [http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0906-7590&site=1 ''Ecography''] - an important journal of broad spatial and temporal patterns in ecology * [http://www.evolutionary-ecology.com/ ''Evolutionary Ecology Research''] - a journal of macroecology [[Category:Ecology]]