Bias in the shoreline development index: Ecological implications illustrated with an analysis of littoral-pelagic habitat coupling

Abstract

We reexamined the relationship between the shoreline development index and metrics of habitat coupling using a bias-corrected variant of the shoreline development index. Our findings suggest that previously reported correlations may be artifacts of scale-dependent bias in shoreline development index measurements. The results highlight the need for careful measurement when seeking to understand links between lake morphology and ecological processes.