Original paper
Biomass distribution in desmid communities
Martello, Gian Vittorio; Gabbiani, Fabrizio
Algological Studies Volume 154 (2018), p. 1 - 39
47 references
published: Aug 21, 2018
published online: Jun 22, 2018
manuscript accepted: Mar 19, 2018
manuscript revision received: Jan 1, 2018
manuscript revision requested: Oct 12, 2017
manuscript received: May 20, 2017
DOI: 10.1127/algol_stud/2018/0288
ArtNo. ESP221015400000, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
The study of biological communities clearly shows that specimens with smaller size and mass prove to be much more numerous than those of larger size and mass. This phenomenon affects both the communities composed of micro-organisms (such as the algal communities) and those consisting of macro-organisms (such as a forest). Therefore, one may ask whether the abundance of specimens is related to their size (or mass) per a precise geometrical-mathematical relationship, or whether the two variables are only coarsely or casually related. In other words, one may ask whether there might be a function that links the size of the specimens with their frequency in the whole population or community. In the following pages, a statistical-combinatory model will be described, able to justify, by means of a mathematical function, the distribution of biomass observed in these freshwater algal communities. In other words, it will be proved that smaller specimens are not randomly more abundant than larger ones, but that the frequencies of the specimens are related to their sizes by a specific combinatorial law, which bases its existence on the scarcity of energetical and material resources. We will demonstrate that limited environmental resources impose a structure to the distribution and that if these resources were unlimited all sizes would be equally probable.
Keywords
biomasses • dimensional classes • communities • density function • environmental resources • desmids