Sam Macaulay
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samuelmacaulay.bsky.social
Sam Macaulay
@samuelmacaulay.bsky.social
140 followers 63 following 15 posts
Aquatic ecologist - mainly streams, rivers, stressors and solutions | How have we messed things up and can we fix it?

Research associate | Imperial College London
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samuelmacaulay.bsky.social
3/ Overcoming spatio-temporal constraints is important, because:
🔹 Restoration is a prolonged process which typically occurs at large spatial scales,
🔹 Connectivity is important in ecological recovery.
A traffic light framework of constraints, limitations and opportunities in aquatic mesocosm research for advancing solutions to environmental threats. Constraints represent broader factors or ecological issues that might limit solution-focused research relative to research quantifying anthropogenic impacts (as indicated by our survey results). Associated with these are more specific limitations of mesocosm systems that might halt or hinder solution-oriented research with mesocosms. Thirdly are the opportunities for overcoming these, which highlight several directions for moving forward in future solution-oriented research utilising mesocosms.
February 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
samuelmacaulay.bsky.social
2/Mesocosms have mostly been used to quantify impacts of environmental threats, but there's largely untapped potential in using them to test solutions!

We explore the opportunities that mesocosms offer in providing controlled, realistic and replicable environments for investigating novel solutions.
Conceptual diagram representing an empirical domain space for ecological research constrained by scales of realism, replication and control. The relative placement of different approaches to empirical research represented by the cubes within the three-dimensional space illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, with the advantages of micro/mesocosm-based approaches in balancing and extending these three dimensions (scales) illustrated by the positioning of these cubes towards the upper corner nearest the viewpoint. Specific study designs and experimental systems using the approaches pictured will vary considerably and influence the positioning of any one study within this space. The approach taken and experimental design used to address a particular research question will be informed by the ecological and biological variables of interest, factors manipulated, responses measured and desired application of the findings. The positioning of the cubes here is intended to illustrate the general tradeoffs within these key three scales relative to other approaches.
February 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM