TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel alternative to F-tests for ecological studies
AU - Pertoldi, Cino
AU - Faurby, Søren
AU - Loeschcke, Volker
AU - Thirstrup, Janne Pia
AU - Ruiz-González, Aritz
AU - Kjærsgaard, Anders
AU - Manenti, Tommaso
AU - Bahrndorff, Simon
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Differences or similarities in the variance of fitness traits are crucial in several biological disciplines, e.g. ecological, toxicological, developmental and evolutionary studies. For example the variance of traits can be utilized as a biomarker of differences in environmental conditions. In the absence of environmental variability, the differences of the variance of a trait can be interpreted as differences of the genetic background. Several tests and transformations are utilized when testing differences between variances. There is, however, a biological tendency for the variance to scale proportionally to the square of the mean (scaling effect) which can considerably bias the results of the tests. We propose a novel method which allows for a more precise correction of the scaling effect and proper comparisons among treatment groups and between investigations. This is relevant for all data sets of distributions with different means and suggests the reanalysis of comparisons among treatment groups. This correction will provide a more reliable method when using bioindicators.
AB - Differences or similarities in the variance of fitness traits are crucial in several biological disciplines, e.g. ecological, toxicological, developmental and evolutionary studies. For example the variance of traits can be utilized as a biomarker of differences in environmental conditions. In the absence of environmental variability, the differences of the variance of a trait can be interpreted as differences of the genetic background. Several tests and transformations are utilized when testing differences between variances. There is, however, a biological tendency for the variance to scale proportionally to the square of the mean (scaling effect) which can considerably bias the results of the tests. We propose a novel method which allows for a more precise correction of the scaling effect and proper comparisons among treatment groups and between investigations. This is relevant for all data sets of distributions with different means and suggests the reanalysis of comparisons among treatment groups. This correction will provide a more reliable method when using bioindicators.
KW - Scaling effect
KW - Taylor's power law
KW - Transformations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961588392&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.061
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.061
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84961588392
SN - 1470-160X
VL - 67
SP - 484
EP - 490
JO - Ecological Indicators
JF - Ecological Indicators
ER -