Structural Equation Modeling: Applications in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is a technique that is used to estimate, analyze and test models that specify relationships among variables. The ability to conduct such analyses is essential for many problems in ecology and evolutionary biology. This book begins by explaining the theory behind the statistical methodology, including chapters on conceptual issues, the implementation of an SEM study, and the history of the development of SEM. The second section provides examples of analyses on biological data including multi-group models, means models, p-technique and time-series. The final section of the book deals with computer applications and contrasts three popular SEM software packages. Aimed specifically at biological researchers and graduate students, this book will serve as a valuable resource for both learning and teaching the SEM methodology. Moreover, data sets and programs that are presented in the book can also be downloaded from a web site to assist the learning process.