Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Weighting species abundance estimates for marine resource assessment

Weighting species abundance estimates for marine resource assessment 1. This paper describes a straightforward method for introducing species weightings into the calculation of a similarity matrix using the Bray–Curtis coefficient. Weighting may be required in order to provide differential emphasis in abundances on the basis of species' size, ecological importance, abundance or in mixing different data types. The similarity matrix can then be used for a range of multivariate analytical procedures, such as cluster analysis or ordination using non‐metric multi‐dimensional scaling (MDS). Such techniques are widely used for the identification of species' assemblages and habitats in marine resource and conservation assessment. 2. The weighting procedure was used to examine the effect of variable accuracy in species identification by trained volunteer divers conducting baseline surveys of reefal habitats in Belize. The accuracy of identification was found to vary asymmetrically between species. 3. The modified Bray–Curtis similarity coefficient was used to incorporate individual species weightings which are proportional to the frequency at which each species is correctly identified. The results of the study demonstrate the fundamental robustness of the Bray–Curtis similarity coefficient/multivariate approach which together, are insensitive to the asymmetric accuracy levels present in the data. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Wiley

Weighting species abundance estimates for marine resource assessment

Download PDF
6 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/weighting-species-abundance-estimates-for-marine-resource-assessment-BEcUpWtpEO

References (17)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN
1052-7613
eISSN
1099-0755
DOI
10.1002/(SICI)1099-0755(199609)6:3<115::AID-AQC188>3.0.CO;2-T
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

1. This paper describes a straightforward method for introducing species weightings into the calculation of a similarity matrix using the Bray–Curtis coefficient. Weighting may be required in order to provide differential emphasis in abundances on the basis of species' size, ecological importance, abundance or in mixing different data types. The similarity matrix can then be used for a range of multivariate analytical procedures, such as cluster analysis or ordination using non‐metric multi‐dimensional scaling (MDS). Such techniques are widely used for the identification of species' assemblages and habitats in marine resource and conservation assessment. 2. The weighting procedure was used to examine the effect of variable accuracy in species identification by trained volunteer divers conducting baseline surveys of reefal habitats in Belize. The accuracy of identification was found to vary asymmetrically between species. 3. The modified Bray–Curtis similarity coefficient was used to incorporate individual species weightings which are proportional to the frequency at which each species is correctly identified. The results of the study demonstrate the fundamental robustness of the Bray–Curtis similarity coefficient/multivariate approach which together, are insensitive to the asymmetric accuracy levels present in the data.

Journal

Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems – Wiley

Published: Sep 1, 1996

There are no references for this article.