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<title>UTas ePrints - Effect of complexity on marine ecosystem models</title>
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<meta content="Fulton, Elizabeth A." name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="Smith, Anthony D.M." name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="Johnson, Craig R." name="eprints.creators_name" />
<meta content="beth.fulton@csiro.au" name="eprints.creators_id" />
<meta name="eprints.creators_id" />
<meta content="Craig.Johnson@utas.edu.au" name="eprints.creators_id" />
<meta content="article" name="eprints.type" />
<meta content="2007-05-31" name="eprints.datestamp" />
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<meta content="Effect of complexity on marine ecosystem models
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<meta content="270702" name="eprints.subjects" />
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<meta content="Ecosystem, Multispecies, Model, Complexity, Model structure, Model scope" name="eprints.keywords" />
<meta content="Ecosystem rather than species management has become an explicit part of policies that
feature in international treaties and national legislation. Many of the tools that will be needed to fulfil
the requirements of these policies are still in an early stage of development. One such tool is trophic
ecosystem modelling. These models have been put forward to aid system-level understanding and
provide insight into the potential impacts of human activities. Despite this, there are many gaps in
knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. In particular, little is known about the effect of the
level of detail in a model on its performance. There has been some consideration of the effects of
model formulation, as well as the effects of the physical, biological and chemical scope of multispecies
and ecosystem models on their performance. A review of existing research indicates that
there is a humped relationship between model detail and performance for these models, and that
there are some guiding principles to consider during model development. This review gives some
insight into which model structures and assumptions are likely to aid understanding and management,
and which may be unnecessary. Further, it provides some understanding of whether some
models can capture properties of real systems that other models cannot. The main recommendation
is that the use of a single 'ultimate' ecosystem model is ill-advised, while the comparative and confirmatory
use of multiple 'minimum-realistic' models is strongly recommended." name="eprints.abstract" />
<meta content="2003-05" name="eprints.date" />
<meta content="published" name="eprints.date_type" />
<meta content="Marine Ecology Progress Series" name="eprints.publication" />
<meta content="253" name="eprints.volume" />
<meta content="1-16" name="eprints.pagerange" />
<meta content="UNSPECIFIED" name="eprints.thesis_type" />
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<meta content="Ecosystem rather than species management has become an explicit part of policies that
feature in international treaties and national legislation. Many of the tools that will be needed to fulfil
the requirements of these policies are still in an early stage of development. One such tool is trophic
ecosystem modelling. These models have been put forward to aid system-level understanding and
provide insight into the potential impacts of human activities. Despite this, there are many gaps in
knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. In particular, little is known about the effect of the
level of detail in a model on its performance. There has been some consideration of the effects of
model formulation, as well as the effects of the physical, biological and chemical scope of multispecies
and ecosystem models on their performance. A review of existing research indicates that
there is a humped relationship between model detail and performance for these models, and that
there are some guiding principles to consider during model development. This review gives some
insight into which model structures and assumptions are likely to aid understanding and management,
and which may be unnecessary. Further, it provides some understanding of whether some
models can capture properties of real systems that other models cannot. The main recommendation
is that the use of a single 'ultimate' ecosystem model is ill-advised, while the comparative and confirmatory
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<h1 class="ep_tm_pagetitle">Effect of complexity on marine ecosystem models</h1>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><span class="person_name">Fulton, Elizabeth A.</span> and <span class="person_name">Smith, Anthony D.M.</span> and <span class="person_name">Johnson, Craig R.</span> (2003) <xhtml:em>Effect of complexity on marine ecosystem models.</xhtml:em> Marine Ecology Progress Series, 253 . pp. 1-16. ISSN 0171-8630</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"></p><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><tr><td valign="top" style="text-align:center"><a onmouseover="EPJS_ShowPreview( event, 'doc_preview_1396' );" onmouseout="EPJS_HidePreview( event, 'doc_preview_1396' );" href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1119/1/2003_Fulton%2C_Smith_%26_Johnson_MEPS.pdf"><img alt="[img]" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png" border="0" class="ep_doc_icon" /></a><div class="ep_preview" id="doc_preview_1396"><table><tr><td><img alt="" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1119/thumbnails/1/preview.png" border="0" class="ep_preview_image" /><div class="ep_preview_title">Preview</div></td></tr></table></div></td><td valign="top"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/1119/1/2003_Fulton%2C_Smith_%26_Johnson_MEPS.pdf"><span class="ep_document_citation">PDF</span></a> - Requires a PDF viewer<br />129Kb</td></tr></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block">Official URL: <a href="http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v253/p1-16/">http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v253/p1-16/</a></p><div class="not_ep_block"><h2>Abstract</h2><p style="padding-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; margin: 1em auto 0em auto">Ecosystem rather than species management has become an explicit part of policies that
feature in international treaties and national legislation. Many of the tools that will be needed to fulfil
the requirements of these policies are still in an early stage of development. One such tool is trophic
ecosystem modelling. These models have been put forward to aid system-level understanding and
provide insight into the potential impacts of human activities. Despite this, there are many gaps in
knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. In particular, little is known about the effect of the
level of detail in a model on its performance. There has been some consideration of the effects of
model formulation, as well as the effects of the physical, biological and chemical scope of multispecies
and ecosystem models on their performance. A review of existing research indicates that
there is a humped relationship between model detail and performance for these models, and that
there are some guiding principles to consider during model development. This review gives some
insight into which model structures and assumptions are likely to aid understanding and management,
and which may be unnecessary. Further, it provides some understanding of whether some
models can capture properties of real systems that other models cannot. The main recommendation
is that the use of a single 'ultimate' ecosystem model is ill-advised, while the comparative and confirmatory
use of multiple 'minimum-realistic' models is strongly recommended.</p></div><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" border="0" cellpadding="3" class="not_ep_block"><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Item Type:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Article</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Keywords:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Ecosystem, Multispecies, Model, Complexity, Model structure, Model scope</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Subjects:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/270702.html">270000 Biological Sciences > 270700 Ecology and Evolution > 270702 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)</a></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Collections:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">UNSPECIFIED</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ID Code:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">1119</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited By:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><span class="ep_name_citation"><span class="person_name">Professor Craig R. Johnson</span></span></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited On:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">31 May 2007</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Last Modified:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">04 Feb 2008 16:31</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ePrint Statistics:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a target="ePrintStats" href="/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint;id=1119;">View statistics for this ePrint</a></td></tr></table><p align="right">Repository Staff Only: <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=1119">item control page</a></p>
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