Resource Selection by Animals - by B B Manly & L McDonald & D L Thomas (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

We have written this book as a guide to the design and analysis of field studies of resource selection, concentrating primarily on statistical aspects of the comparison of the use and availability of resources of different types. Our in- tended audience is field ecologists in general and wildlife biologists in particular who are attempting to measure the extent to which real animal populations are selective in their choice of food and habitat. As such, we have made no attempt to address those aspects of theoretical ecology that are concerned with how animals might choose their resources if they acted in an optimal manner. The book is based on the concept of a resource selection function, where this is a function of characteristics measured on resource units such that its value for a unit is proportional to the probability of that unit being used. We argue that this concept leads to a unified theory for the analysis and interpretation of data on resource selection and can replace many ad hoc statistical methods that have been used in the past.

Review Quotes

`Bryan Manly has more experience than most in guiding the unwary biologist through unchartered statistical territory...this book will prove enlightening to the mathematically-minded biologist...'
Biodiversity and Conservation
`The authors...consider with a lot of care various types of design allowing to assess to which degree a resource is selected, with reference to its availability... Classification is illustrated with a few detailed examples from the literature, for which data are given. These examples are followed throughout the book, which makes the reading easy and pleasant...This book certainly meets its subtitle by giving a thorough and comprehensive overview of 'statistical design and analysis for field studies' of resource selection.'
Acta Oecologia