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NUMERICAL ECOLOGY, 20
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To order this title, and for more information, click here
Second Edition
By
P. Legendre, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, H3C 3J7, Québec, Canada
L. Legendre, Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, G1K 7P4, Canada
Reviews
Journal of Plankton Research, Volume 21, Number 7, D.H. Cushing
...The text is well written and very clear, it is so clear that the reader is seduced to read further; I found myself happily reading
page after page. The authors are masters of their subject and as they delineate it, from chapter to chapter, they define it. At every
corner of the text there is an 'ecological application' and this is useful in revealing the limits and advantages of a method.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Volume 239, M.J. Anderson
...The first English edition of Numerical Ecology appeared in 1983. It was already an important reference for multi-dimensional
analysis in ecology, providing the most comprehensive explanations of matrix algebra, eigenanalysis, measures of association (similarity
and dissimilarity), cluster analysis and ordination for ecology. The new edition is much more than this. The last 15 years have seen
an explosion of new statistical non-parametric methods, particularly permutation methods, and computer programs that have made the analysis
of 'misbehaving' data more possible than ever before.
This new edition of Numerical Ecology provides a very impressive overview
of these complex new methods. It still provides an (up-dated) summary of the fundamentals of measures of association, clustering and
ordination, but it also provides a plethora of new material, consistent with the recent explosion of new methods. It is comprehensive
in the sheer quantity of the new methods it covers, such as cluster analysis with spatial contiguity constraints, multivariate Mantel
tests for spatial autocorrelation, redundancy analysis and permutation tests for complex linear models. It is, without a doubt, the most
extensive current review of the most up-to-date multivariate numerical techniques in experimental ecology.
Along with providing understandable
introductions to and examples of these new methods, it is a great source to access the primary literature on these topics. This is especially
important because many of the 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.
Oceanologica Acta, 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.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol. 32/2, 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.
Journal of Fish Biology, 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 Classification, 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.
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