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OBSERVATION ERROR AND THE DETECTION OF DELAYED DENSITY DEPENDENCE
Author(s) -
Solow Andrew R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[3263:oeatdo]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - spurious relationship , density dependence , statistics , ecology , mean squared prediction error , word error rate , biology , statistical physics , econometrics , mathematics , physics , computer science , demography , artificial intelligence , population , sociology
In an influential 1990 paper, Turchin concluded that delayed density dependence is common among insect populations. The statistical methods on which this conclusion was based assume that populations are observed without error. This note explores the effect of observation error on these methods. The results suggest that observation error can lead to a high rate of spurious detection of delayed density dependence.