What governs the dimensionality of coastal marine communities along the Southwest Atlantic?
Science / Life Sciences
Scientists study biodiversity using metrics (e.g. species in a location), which capture only part of the information contained in biodiversity. This fragments the concept, which is, by nature, one. Interestingly, without integration, the more fragments we access, the further we are from understanding biodiversity. Dimensionality – the number of dimensions necessary to describe biodiversity in an effective and non-redundant way – was proposed as a solution to this paradox. Some places and biological communities have greater dimensionality than others, although it is unknown why. This is an essential question for theory and practice in ecology and conservation and is at the forefront of biodiversity studies. In this project, I will use the intimate relationship between marine benthic organisms and their habitats to answer this question.
