Developments in Environmental Modelling: Numerical Ecology (ePub)

numerical methods useful to ecologists come from advances in other fields, such as agriculture, economics, psychology, archaeology, sociology, physics, geology, geography or from other branches of biology, such as genetics, taxonomy, morphometrics.... This book provides a superb line of access for those who approach complex statistics with a weary heart. Have you never understood an eigenvalue before? Look here! It also provides an exceptional up-to-date reference for the experts...This book offers ecologists the means to make the most of their numerical methods, particularly for descriptive multi-dimensional analysis. My prediction: it will take more than ten years for the rest of us to catch up to this book, to explore its information content and the many non-parametric approaches to unique situations. It is a 'must-have' reference for any researcher or graduate student studying multivariate ecological systems.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Volume 239
E.K. Duursma
...Considerable appraisal has to be given on the extensiveness of the subjects treated, the clear presentations with i.e. helpful indications in the margin, clear figures and tables, all demonstrating the thoroughness with which the authors have prepared this second English edition. The fact that previous English and French editions, even if much less extensive than the second English edition, were published, shows that students and scientists around the world are interested in in-depth studies of numerical ecology.
Oceanologica Acta
P. Bourgeron
...one of those few books that is worth every page it is written on. It is truly a monumental work, both in its size (853 pages) and thematic content. It is an ambitious and timely overview of the quantitative analysis of ecological data at a time when the increasing availability of computer programs makes choosing among the dizzying number of techniques a confusing task. Clearly, Pierre and Louis Legendre have produced an excellent book on numerical ecology.(...)The book is well produced, with few errors. It will be essential reading for ecologists, whether beginners or seasoned professionals, who conduct quantitative analyses of ecological and environmental data. This book can be used at several levels, from an introduction, to the in-depth teaching/reading of the topics covered.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol. 32/2
R.J. Wootton
...This volume made me wish that I taught a course for which it was the recommended textbook. It is a lucid guide to a particular area of quantitative biology. The book is devoted to numerical methods that can be used for the analysis of multidimensional data, particularly the sort of data collected in studies of assemblages of organisms. The outstanding feature of the book is the clarity with which these methods are described. As someone who has fought a losing battle with techniques such as the terrible twins Decorana and Twinspan, this book was a revelation. Anyone who is concerned with analysing fish assemblages and the relationships between assemblage composition and environmental characteristics should find this book valuable....It should sit alongside Underwood's Experiments in Ecology (CUP, 1997) on the desk of any ecologist who undertakes quantitative field studies.
Journal of Fish Biology
J. Podani
...The main message of this review is that this volume should not be absent from the bookshelf of any quantitatively minded community ecologist.
Journal of Classification