Mixed Effects Models and Extensions in Ecology with R (Statistics for Biology and Health) [Hardcover]

From the reviews: "For many people dealing with statistics is like jumping into ice-cold water. This metaphor is depicted by the cover of this book … . full of excellent example code and for most graphs and analyses the code is printed and explained in detail. … Each example finishes with … valuable information for a person new to a technique. In summary, I highly recommend the book to anyone who is familiar with basic statistics … who wants to expand his/her statistical knowledge to analyse ecological data." (Bernd Gruber, Basic and Applied Ecology, Vol. 10, 2009) "This book is written in a very approachable conversational style. The additional focus on the heuristics of the process rather than just a rote recital of theory and equations is commendable. This type of approach helps the reader get behind the ‘why’ of what’s being done rather than blindly follow a simple list of rules.… In short, this text is good for researchers with at least a little familiarity with the basic concepts of modeling and who want some solid stop-by-stop guidance with examples on how common ecological modeling tasks are accomplished using R." (Aaron Christ, Journal of Statistical Software, November 2009, Vol. 32) "The authors succeed in explaining complex extensions of regression in largely nonmathematical terms and clearly present appropriate R code for each analysis. A major strength of the text is that instead of relying on idealized datasets … the authors use data from consulting projects or dissertation research to expose issues associated with ‘real’ data. … The book is well written and accessible … . the volume should be a useful reference for advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced professionals working in the biological sciences." (Paul E. Bourdeau, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 84, December, 2009) “... Das vorgestellte anwendungsorientierte Buch kann als eine Erweiterung des 2007 erschienenen Buches ‘Analysing Ecological Data‘ ... angesehen werden. Die gute ... Einführung im ersten Buchteil erleichtert den Einstieg in die verschiedenen Auswertungskonzepte für alle ... Zur mathematischen Vertiefüng der Methoden und anderer Aspekte statistischer Analysen sind die vielen weiterführenden Literaturhinweise sehr hilfreich. Der zweite Teil des Buches mit zehn eingehend erläuterten Beispielen gibt einen nützlichen Einblick in die verschiedenen Analysemöglichkeiten komplexer ökologischer Daten, wodurch die Untersuchung des eigenen Datensatzes erleichtert werden kann ...“ (Rene Wördehoff, in: Forstarchiv, 2009, Vol. 80, Issue 4, S. 134) “This is a companion volume to Analyzing Ecology Data by the same authors. …It extends the previous work by looking at more complex general and generalized linear models involving mixed effects or heterogeneity in variances. It is aimed at statistically sophisticated readers who have a good understanding of multiple regression models… .The pedagogical style is informal… . The authors are pragmatists—they use combinations of informal graphical approaches, formal hypothesis  testing, and information-theoretical model selection methods  when analyzing data. …Advanced graduate students in ecology or ecologists with several years of experience with ‘messy’ data would find this book useful. …Statisticians would find this book interesting for the nice explorations of many of the issues with messy data. This book would be (very) suitable for a graduate course on statistical consulting—indeed, students would learn a great deal about the use of sophisticated statistical models in ecology! …I very much liked this book (and also the previous volume). I enjoyed the nontechnical presentations of the complex ideas and their emphasis that a good analysis uses ‘simple statistical methods wherever possible, but doesn’t use them simplistically.’” (Biometrics, Summer 2009, 65, 992–993)

This book discusses advanced statistical methods that can be used to analyse ecological data. Most environmental collected data are measured repeatedly over time, or space and this requires the use of GLMM or GAMM methods. The book starts by revising regression, additive modelling, GAM and GLM, and then discusses dealing with spatial or temporal dependencies and nested data.