Overview Of Multivariate Methods And Their Application To Studies Of Wildlife Habitat PDF Download

Multivariate statistical techniques as methods of choice in analyzing habitat relations among animals have distinct advantages over competitive methodologies. These considerations, joined with a reduction in the cost of computer time, the increased availability of multivariate statistical packages, and an increased willingness on the part of ecologists to use mathematics and statistics as tools, have created an exponentially increasing interest in multivariate statistical methods over the past decade. It is important to note that the earliest multivariate statistical analyses in ecology did more than introduce a set of appropriate and needed methodologies to ecology. The studies emphasized different spatial and organizational scales from those typically emphasized in habitat studies. The new studies, that used multivariate methods, emphasized individual organisms' responses in a heterogeneous environment. This philosophical (and to some degree, methodological) emphasis on heterogeneity has led to a potential to predict the consequences of disturbances and management on wildlife habitat. One recent development in this regard has been the coupling of forest succession simulators with multivariate analysis of habitat to predict habitat availability under different timber management procedures.