The spatial scale at which an environmental variable is summarized can have considerable impacts on ecological inference of species distribution and abundance. While several analytical approaches have emerged to determine biologically relevant spatial scales – the spatial scale that most strongly influences the ecological patterns observed – identifying key ecological drivers of scale of effect is still underway. Additionally, several predicted ecological drivers of scale of effect can vary across space and time, but little research on spatiotemporal patterns has occurred. Here, I assessed spatial and temporal variation in scales of effect across 32 North American bird species using 18 years of empirical data from the North American breeding bird survey. Scale estimation was then coupled with trait-based analyses and hypotheses testing of underlying processes of spatial and temporal variation in scales of effect. All 32 species tested exhibited varied scales of effect across years (average annual scales of effect ranging from 0.2 to 4.97 km) and Bird Conservation Regions (BCR), with spatial variability being the most pronounced. Trait-based analyses revealed a contrary relationship between hand-wing index, body size, and scale of effect, though the strength of this relationship was contingent on migratory status. Temporal variation in scales of effect was best explained by changes in human development over time, indicating that avian space use can be explained by an increasing human footprint. Additionally, relative population size, consistent with theoretical predictions stemming from density-dependent population dynamics, explained notable variation in spatial and temporal scales of effect. These findings contribute to the growing landscape ecology literature by providing empirical evidence for hypothesized drivers of scales of effect. By delineating species-specific scales of effect and elucidating their ecological drivers, this study enhances our understanding of spatial and temporal scales in ecological processes, aiding conservation efforts in a rapidly changing world.

中文翻译：

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生态效应规模随空间和时间的不同而变化


总结环境变量的空间尺度可以对物种分布和丰度的生态推断产生相当大的影响。虽然已经出现了几种分析方法来确定生物学相关的空间尺度（对观察到的生态模式影响最大的空间尺度），但确定影响尺度的关键生态驱动因素仍在进行中。此外，一些预测的影响规模的生态驱动因素可能会随着空间和时间的不同而变化，但对时空模式的研究却很少。在这里，我使用北美种鸟调查 18 年的经验数据评估了 32 种北美鸟类影响规模的空间和时间变化。然后将规模估计与基于特征的分析和效应规模的空间和时间变化的基本过程的假设检验相结合。测试的所有 32 个物种在不同年份（平均年影响范围为 0.2 至 4.97 公里）和鸟类保护区 (BCR) 中都表现出不同的影响规模，其中空间变异最为明显。基于性状的分析揭示了手翼指数、体型和影响范围之间的相反关系，尽管这种关系的强度取决于迁徙状态。影响规模的时间变化最好用人类发展随时间的变化来解释，这表明鸟类对空间的利用可以用人类足迹的增加来解释。此外，相对种群规模与密度相关种群动态的理论预测一致，解释了效应的空间和时间尺度的显着变化。 这些发现为影响规模的假设驱动因素提供了经验证据，为景观生态学文献的不断增长做出了贡献。通过描绘特定物种的影响规模并阐明其生态驱动因素，这项研究增强了我们对生态过程中时空尺度的理解，有助于在快速变化的世界中进行保护工作。