title: From Bacteria to Whales: Using Functional Size Spectra to Model Marine Ecosystems.
abstract: Size-based ecosystem modeling is emerging as a powerful way to assess ecosystem-level impacts of human- and environment-driven changes from individual-level processes. These models have evolved as mechanistic explanations for observed regular patterns of abundance across the marine size spectrum hypothesized to hold from bacteria to whales. Fifty years since the first size spectrum measurements, we ask how far have we come? Although recent modeling studies capture an impressive range of sizes, complexity, and real-world applications, ecosystem coverage is still only partial. We describe how this can be overcome by unifying functional traits with size spectra (which we call functional size spectra) and highlight the key knowledge gaps that need to be filled to model ecosystems from bacteria to whales.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia. Electronic address: julia.blanchard@utas.edu.au.
authors.forename: Julia L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applications in Natural Resource Mathematics (CARM), School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Ryan F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Heneghan
authors.affiliation: Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Building 22, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman NSW 2088, Australia.
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.affiliation: Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Rowan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trebilco
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applications in Natural Resource Mathematics (CARM), School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Ecosciences Precinct, GPO Box 2583, Brisbane, Queensland 4102, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria; D049628:Body Size; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D014907:Whales
keywords: allometry; body size; ecosystem dynamics; ecosystem function; macroecology; size distribution