A Variance Test for Detecting Species Associations, with Some Example Applications

Dolph Schluter

doi:10.2307/1938071

journal article Jun 01, 1984

A Variance Test for Detecting Species Associations, with Some Example Applications

Dolph Schluter

Ecology Vol. 65 No. 3 pp. 998-1005 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.2307/1938071

Abstract

A little—used measure of species association is provided by the ratio of the variance in total species number (or total density of individuals) in samples to the sum of the variances of the individual species. Use of this ratio allows a test of the null hypothesis that species do not covary among samples. As the test is simultaneous it is preferable to pairwise 2 X 2 contingency table analysis and pairwise correlation analysis when the number of species is large. Simulation reveals that this test is also more powerful than Pearson's g2 test for comparing observed and expected frequency distributions of species in samples. The variance test was applied to a selection of data from the literature. Results reveal that positive associations are the rule in nature and negative associations are uncommon. Invertebrate species tend to be more positively associated among samples than are vertebrates, although the difference is not significant. Examples of biological processes, especially interspecific interactions, that might produce associations among species are suggested. However one must be cautious not to infer the importance or unimportance of a specific process from the result of the test alone.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

Cited By

366

Niche breadth and niche overlap of typical plant communities in the plateau temperate semi-arid river valley climatic region of the Qinghai-Xizang plateau

Benyi Fu, Wei Yang · 2026

Frontiers in Plant Science

Niche and interspecific association of dominant arbor species in Quercus communities in the Qinling Mountains, China

Ruizhi Huang, Qi Wang · 2025

Global Ecology and Conservation

Short time series obscure compensatory dynamics in ecological communities

Mingyu Luo, Lauren M. Hallett · 2025

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Comparison of methods to detect interspecific competition among parasites in depauperate communities

M.A. Barger · 2023

Journal of Helminthology

Ectoparasite extinction in simplified lizard assemblages during experimental island invasion

Christian L. Cox, Sean Alexander · 2020

Biology Letters

Community-level regulation of temporal trends in biodiversity

Nicholas J. Gotelli, Hideyasu Shimadzu · 2017

Science Advances

codyn: Anrpackage of community dynamics metrics

Lauren M. Hallett, Sydney K. Jones · 2016

Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Mechanisms contributing to stability in ecosystem function depend on the environmental context

Emily Grman, Jennifer A. Lau · 2010

Ecology Letters

The Causes and Consequences of Compensatory Dynamics in Ecological Communities

Andrew Gonzalez, Michel Loreau · 2009

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution...

Temporal organization of fish assemblages in floodplain lagoons: the role of hydrological connectivity

Rodrigo Fernandes, Luiz Carlos Gomes · 2009

Journal of Applied Phycology

The Ecological Significance of Allelopathy in the Community Organization of Alhagi Graecorum Boiss

A.A. El-Khatib · 2000

Biologia plantarum

Metrics

366

Citations

0

References

Details

Published: Jun 01, 1984
Vol/Issue: 65(3)
Pages: 998-1005
License: View

Authors

D

Dolph Schluter

Cite This Article

Dolph Schluter (1984). A Variance Test for Detecting Species Associations, with Some Example Applications. Ecology, 65(3), 998-1005. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938071

A Variance Test for Detecting Species Associations, with Some Example Applications

You May Also Like