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arXiv · 2602.01496

Is normalized biomass really abundance? pitfalls, artifacts, and misconceptions in the field of size spectra analysis: a case for back-transformed spectra and standardized binning

Ralf Schwamborn
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Abstract

The NBSS (normalized biomass size spectrum) is a common, intuitive approach for the study of natural ecosystems. However, very few studies have been dedicated to verifying possible flaws and paradoxes in this widely used method. Evident points of concern of the NBSS method are 1.) the loss of variability due to binning and 2.) the use of intriguing non-biomass units (i.e. abundance units). The main objectives of this study were to verify, test and analyze the procedures involved in transformations that lead to the NBSS plot, and to check for the correctness of currently used units, while testing the hypothesis that NBSS indeed represents biomass density, not abundance, while developing i.) a new conceptual framework, ii.) a new terminology within Size-spectrum Inference, Scaling, and Estimation (SIZE) theory, iii.) a novel back-transformation method, iv.) high-resolution kernel density estimation (KDE) plots of the density function shape, and v.) a new calculation method for numerical values, dimensions, and units. Extensive tests with in situ and synthetic (simulated) data were used to compare the original biomass distributions with binned outputs. Original biomass units (g m-3) and dimensions are retained in the proposed robust, bootstrapped backtransformed and normalized biomass spectrum (bNBS). Previously published common NBSS may be simply converted to quantitative biomass B by multiplying with a reference unity bin with (wR = 1 mass or volume unit). If a standardized framework (standard mass and space units, standard reference bin width wR) is used, the proposed bNBS may allow for a new approach of robust size spectra science, that allows for quantitative inter-comparisons of abundance and biomass across size ranges, regions, and time periods.

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Ralf Schwamborn. 2026-02-02. Is normalized biomass really abundance? pitfalls, artifacts, and misconceptions in the field of size spectra analysis: a case for back-transformed spectra and standardized binning. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01496

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