Rethinking ‘Big Data’: Small Datasets, Big Ecological Insights
You don’t always need massive datasets to learn something important about nature. While modern ecology often focuses on large-scale “big data,” a recent study carried out in part by one of our collaborators Dr. Robert Hanner, shows that smaller, less-than-perfect datasets can still reveal important patterns—if analyzed carefully. Researchers examined how changes in habitat and interactions between species affect fish communities, using data from electrofishing surveys and habitat measurements at four sites where the environment had been experimentally altered.
The location of the four sampling sites; Big Creek, East Medway, Upper Medway, and Wigle Creek. Upper Medway and East Medway are in the upper portion of the Lake Erie basin while Big Creek and Wigle Creek are in the lower portion. Map from Bonk et al.
The paper, published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes, found 30 strong links between fish species and specific habitat features, and 20 notable relationships between different species, suggesting that both habitat conditions and species interactions play a role in shaping community structure. Importantly, these patterns lined up well with what is already known about the biology of the species involved.
Although the total fish biomass remained about the same across all four sites, the kinds of fish present—and how much biomass each species contributed—varied significantly. Some species became more dominant while others declined, depending on how well the altered habitat suited them and how they interacted with other species.
This research underscores that even smaller datasets can uncover meaningful ecological patterns, especially when they’re backed by strong analysis and biological understanding. It also highlights how environmental changes can shift the balance within communities—not necessarily by changing the total amount of life, but by redistributing which species thrive and which struggle.
Bonk, E.A., Hanner, R.H., Bartlett, A.J. et al. Fish community responses to habitat alteration: Interactions, biomass shifts, and the value of imperfect data. Environ Biol Fish (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-025-01705-8