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Illustrating the importance of meta‐analysing variances alongside means in ecology and evolution
Author(s) -
SánchezTójar Alfredo,
Moran Nicholas P.,
O’Dea Rose E.,
Reinhold Klaus,
Nakagawa Shinichi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.13661
Subject(s) - meta analysis , trait , biology , variance (accounting) , set (abstract data type) , range (aeronautics) , ecology , data science , evolutionary biology , computer science , medicine , materials science , accounting , business , composite material , programming language
Meta‐analysis is increasingly used in biology to both quantitatively summarize available evidence for specific questions and generate new hypotheses. Although this powerful tool has mostly been deployed to study mean effects, there is untapped potential to study effects on (trait) variance. Here, we use a recently published data set as a case study to demonstrate how meta‐analysis of variance can be used to provide insights into biological processes. This data set included 704 effect sizes from 89 studies, covering 56 animal species, and was originally used to test developmental stress effects on a range of traits. We found that developmental stress not only negatively affects mean trait values, but also increases trait variance, mostly in reproduction, showcasing how meta‐analysis of variance can reveal previously overlooked effects. Furthermore, we show how meta‐analysis of variance can be used as a tool to help meta‐analysts make informed methodological decisions, even when the primary focus is on mean effects. We provide all data and comprehensive R scripts with detailed explanations to make it easier for researchers to conduct this type of analysis. We encourage meta‐analysts in all disciplines to move beyond the world of means and start unravelling secrets of the world of variance.