Multiple-Site Beta Diversity Methods with an Introduction of R Package “MBI”

Abstract

In this chapter, different multiple-site beta diversity metrics (totally 21 metrics) were introduced and calculated by using a R package “MBI”, which was developed by the author of the book. The calculation of these multiple-site beta diversity metrics was actually quite easy and straightforward, especially when using the R package “MBI”. In this chapter of the book, I will also present and compare the empirical applications of the metrics on the publicly available 290 presence/absence real-world matrices which were collected by ecologists. It is expected that the readers of the book could easily understand and learn these multiple-site beta diversity indices through practicing their own data by using the “MBI” package.

Keywords: Beta diversity, Bonferroni correction, computational ecology, diversity partitioning, multiple-site comparison, R statistical computing environment, software development, variance of species composition.

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