Erica Newman (University of California, Berkeley)
Abstract. Natural disturbances increase heterogeneity and diversity of ecosystems, while anthropogenic changes often decrease ecosystem complexity and diversity. To a disturbance ecologist, factors such as the type, size, and seasonality of disturbances explain patterns on the landscape; however, macroecologists treat all perturbations and disturbances as the same, and generally avoid studying ecosystems in transition. Here, I extend an information entropy-based theory of macroecology (the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology) to disrupted and disturbed ecosystems, and compare the macroecological responses of biological communities in transition including a primary succession landslide system, a fire-evolved conifer system, and a novel grazing regime in forb-dominated meadows. This integration of macroecology into disturbance ecology allows for cross-system comparisons of natural disturbance and anthropogenic impacts. This more advanced understanding of ecological perturbations and quantitative comparisons of their effects over multiple spatial scales can inform both species-level and landscape-scale conservation efforts.