Abstract
To apply the traditional scientific method, ecologists ordinarily focus on the mean or central tendency of a data set. For example, a typical hypothesis test would involve demonstrating that the mean is significantly different from a control measurement. However, ecological systems are heterogeneous, and much information may be lost if the variance of a data set is ignored. This chapter shows that a specific prediction of hierarchy theory can be tested by examining how variance changes as measurements are taken across a range of scales.
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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
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O’Neill, R.V., Gardner, R.H., Milne, B.T., Turner, M.G., Jackson, B. (1991). Heterogeneity and Spatial Hierarchies. In: Kolasa, J., Pickett, S.T.A. (eds) Ecological Heterogeneity. Ecological Studies, vol 86. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3062-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3062-5_5
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