The Interpretation of Ecological Data: A Primer on Classification and Ordination

by E.C. Pielou

A detailed introduction to the methods used by ecologists--classification and ordination--to clarify and interpret large, unwieldy masses of multivariate field data. Permits ecologists to understand, not just mechanically use, pre-packaged programs for multivariate analysis. Demonstrates these techniques using artificial data simple enough for every analytical step to be understood.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 1984

About the author

Evelyn Chrystalla "E.C." Pielou is a statistical ecologist. She began her career as a researcher for the Canadian Department of Forestry and the Canadian Department of Agriculture. Later she was professor of biology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then Oil Sands Environmental Research Professor working out of the University of Lethbridge, Alberta.

She has contributed significantly to the development of mathematical ecology, the mathematical modeling of natural systems and wrote six academic books on the subject.

She now lives in Comox, British Columbia, Canada, and writes popular books on natural history.

Reviews

[Anne-Marie Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an exceptional overview of the logic and rational behind common procedures used to interpret ecological data. It goes into explanatory detail that many statistics and more modern methods books skip over. Even though computers can do all of these analyses in seconds, understanding the principles outlined in this book is critical to actually making sense of what the outputs mean and the implications of results for your system of study.