@article{17307c07872440839fafdcd54223acec,
title = "Multiscale Experiments in Coastal Ecology: Improving Realism and Advancing Theory",
abstract = "The Multiscale Experimental Ecosystem Research Center has conducted a series of mesocosm experiments to quantify the effects of scale - in terms of time, depth, radius, exchange rate, and ecological complexity - on biogeochemical processes and trophic dynamics in a variety of coastal habitats. The results indicate that scale effects can be categorized as (a) fundamental effects, which are evident in both natural and experimental ecosystems, and (b) artifacts of enclosure, which are solely attributable to the artificial environment in mesocosms. We conclude that multiscale experiments increase researchers' understanding of scale in nature and improve their ability to design scale-sensitive experiments, the results of which can be systematically compared with each other and extrapolated to nature.",
keywords = "Experimental design, Extrapolation, Mesocosm, Scale",
author = "Petersen, {John E.} and Kemp, {W. Michael} and Rick Bartleson and Boynton, {Walter R.} and Chen, {Chung Chi} and Cornwell, {Jeffrey C.} and Gardner, {Robert H.} and Hinkle, {Deborah C.} and Houde, {Edward D.} and Malone, {Thomas C.} and Mowitt, {William R.} and Laura Murray and Sanford, {Lawrence P.} and Stevenson, {J. Court} and Sundberg, {Karen L.} and Suttles, {Steve E.}",
note = "Funding Information: Our research was supported by the Environmental Protection Agency{\textquoteright}s STAR (Science to Achieve Results) program as part of the Multiscale Experimental Ecosystem Research Center (MEERC) at the University of Maryland{\textquoteright}s Center for Environmental Science. Numerous colleagues, students, and technicians contributed to this large research effort, including Joel Baker, Mine Berg, Bob Costanza, Bill Dennison, Pat Glibert, Tim Goertemiller, Todd Kana,Victor Kennedy, Marlon Lewis, Chris Madden, Jeff Merrill, Kelly Merrill, Jenny Purcell, Enrique Reyes, Alison Sanford, Diane Stoecker, Brian Sturgis, Frieda Taub, and Tom Wazniak. The MEERC program built on lessons learned in other mesocosm facilities, most notably the substantial body of work conducted at the Marine Ecosystem Research Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island. Our program benefited from the stimulation provided by a science advisory committee composed of many of the leading thinkers on issues of scale and experimentation.",
year = "2003",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[1181:MEICEI]2.0.CO;2",
language = "English",
volume = "53",
pages = "1181--1197",
journal = "BioScience",
issn = "0006-3568",
publisher = "American Institute of Biological Sciences",
number = "12",
}
