The fractal nature of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti

doi:10.1515/biolog-2016-0077

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The fractal nature of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti

Published/Copyright: July 14, 2016

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From the journal Biologia Volume 71 Issue 6

Abstract

For a long time ecologists have questioned on the variations of biodiversity across the latitudinal gradient. Recently, it has emerged that the changes in β-diversity are caused simply by changes in the sizes of species pools. In this study, the species pool size and the fractal nature of ecosystems was combined to clarify some general patterns of this gradient. Considering temperature, humidity and NPP as the main variables of an ecosystem niche and as the axis of the polygon in the Cartesian plane, it is possible to build fractal hypervolumes, whose fractal dimension rises up to three moving towards the equator. It follows that the best figure that graphically synthesizes the evolutionary forces that fit this ecosystem hypervolume is the fractal cauliflower.

Keywords: latitudinal gradient; biodiversity; fractals; ecosystem niche; cauliflower

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the late Benoit Mandelbrot who suggested and showed me personally the high potential of fractals in ecology during a private discussion at the conferment of his degree honoris causa in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Bari, Italy, the 13rd of November 2007. For similar reasons, I am thankful to Prof. Vittorio Pesce Delfino of the University of Bari-Digamma Consortium for his deep knowledge and shared enthusiasm of almost everything.

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Received: 2016-2-9

Accepted: 2016-4-21

Published Online: 2016-7-14

Published in Print: 2016-6-1

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https://doi.org/10.1515/biolog-2016-0077

Keywords for this article

latitudinal gradient; biodiversity; fractals; ecosystem niche; cauliflower