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Background: Over the past two decades high energy-resolution inelastic proton scattering studies were used to gain an understanding of the origin of fine structure observed in the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance (ISGQR) and the isovector giant dipole resonance (IVGDR). Recently, the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) in 58 Ni , 90 Zr , 120 Sn , and 208 Pb was studied at the iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS) by means of inelastic 𝛼-particle scattering at very forward scattering angles (including 0∘). The good energy resolution of the measurement revealed significant fine structure of the ISGMR. Objective: To extract scales by means of wavelet analysis characterizing the observed fine structure of the ISGMR in order to investigate the role of different mechanisms contributing to its decay width. Methods: Characteristic energy scales are extracted from the fine structure using continuous wavelet transforms. The experimental energy scales are compared to different theoretical approaches performed in the framework of quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) and beyond-QRPA including complex configurations using both non-relativistic and relativistic density functional theory. Results: All models highlight the role of Landau fragmentation for the damping of the ISGMR especially in the medium-mass region. Models which include the coupling between one-particle–one-hole (1p-1h) and two-particle–two-hole (2p-2h) configurations modify the strength distributions and wavelet scales indicating the importance of the spreading width. The effect becomes more pronounced with increasing mass number. Conclusions: Wavelet scales remain a sensitive measure of the interplay between Landau fragmentation and the spreading width in the description of the fine structure of giant resonances. The case of the ISGMR is intermediate between the IVGDR, where Landau damping dominates, and the ISGQR, where fine structure originates from coupling to low-lying surface vibrations.