129
H.-J. Ceccaldi et al. (eds.), Marine Productivity: Perturbations and Resilience of Socio-ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-13878-7_14, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Abstract
Natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination such as plankton
toxins and hydrocarbons are nearly ubiquitous in the marine environment.
Specifically, they are a pernicious threat especially at low concentration as
nonlethal effects on the plankton propagate through the food chain and
accumulate in the tissues of top predators, ultimately putting human health
at risk. In this contribution, I first describe how the complexity observed in
the spatial and temporal patterns of copepod swimming behaviour can be
objectively quantified using a series of ‘behavioural stress indexes’ based
on fractal and multifractal analyses of copepod swimming behaviour and
swimming sequences. These indexes are suggested as a potential tool to
critically assess behavioural responses to natural and anthropogenic forcing
in the marine environment.
L. Seuront (*)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,
UMR 8187 LOG, Wimereux, France
e-mail: laurent.seuront@cnrs.fr
When Complexity Rimes
with Sanity: Loss of Fractal
and Multifractal Behavioural
Complexity as an Indicator
of Sublethal Contaminations
in Zooplankton
Laurent Seuront
1
Introduction
As observed across the whole spectrum of social
and natural sciences, behavioural data are
inherently very complex (Seuront 2010a, b), a
priori lacking of any spatial pattern or temporal
structure (Fig. 1). This complexity is believed to
be biologically adaptive as it avoids restricting
the functional response of an organism to highly
periodic behaviour (Goldberger et al. 2000)
and it is error tolerant, allowing organisms to
cope with stress and unpredictable environments
(Goldberger et al. 1990). The analysis of behaviour
hence critically requires approaches explicitly
dealing with this complexity. This issue is particularly relevant in welfare assessment as most
behavioural measures are not sensitive enough to
detect subtle changes associated with mild or
acute stress (Rutherford et al. 2004).
The field of behavioural ecology has recently
begun to use novel analytical tools such as fractal
analysis (Asher et al. 2009). Specifically, fractal
H.-J. Ceccaldi et al. (eds.), Marine Productivity: Perturbations and Resilience of Socio-ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-13878-7_14, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Abstract
Natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination such as plankton
toxins and hydrocarbons are nearly ubiquitous in the marine environment.
Specifically, they are a pernicious threat especially at low concentration as
nonlethal effects on the plankton propagate through the food chain and
accumulate in the tissues of top predators, ultimately putting human health
at risk. In this contribution, I first describe how the complexity observed in
the spatial and temporal patterns of copepod swimming behaviour can be
objectively quantified using a series of ‘behavioural stress indexes’ based
on fractal and multifractal analyses of copepod swimming behaviour and
swimming sequences. These indexes are suggested as a potential tool to
critically assess behavioural responses to natural and anthropogenic forcing
in the marine environment.
L. Seuront (*)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,
UMR 8187 LOG, Wimereux, France
e-mail: laurent.seuront@cnrs.fr
When Complexity Rimes
with Sanity: Loss of Fractal
and Multifractal Behavioural
Complexity as an Indicator
of Sublethal Contaminations
in Zooplankton
Laurent Seuront
1
Introduction
As observed across the whole spectrum of social
and natural sciences, behavioural data are
inherently very complex (Seuront 2010a, b), a
priori lacking of any spatial pattern or temporal
structure (Fig. 1). This complexity is believed to
be biologically adaptive as it avoids restricting
the functional response of an organism to highly
periodic behaviour (Goldberger et al. 2000)
and it is error tolerant, allowing organisms to
cope with stress and unpredictable environments
(Goldberger et al. 1990). The analysis of behaviour
hence critically requires approaches explicitly
dealing with this complexity. This issue is particularly relevant in welfare assessment as most
behavioural measures are not sensitive enough to
detect subtle changes associated with mild or
acute stress (Rutherford et al. 2004).
The field of behavioural ecology has recently
begun to use novel analytical tools such as fractal
analysis (Asher et al. 2009). Specifically, fractal