This course presents a survey of the biostatistical methods commonly used in evolutionary and ecological research. It explores the conceptual and logical foundations of biological statistics for ecological and evolutionary research, and provides perspective on how one can match analytical approaches with biological hypotheses and data type. The goal is to provide a working knowledge of statistical methods common to E&E research, so that one may better determine which analytical approaches are most appropriate for different types of data. The course follows a: ‘Think first, implement methods second’ perspective. The mathematical and conceptual relationships among methods will also be discussed.
It is anticipated that the course helps to provide sufficient background and detail of analytical methods, so that one may pick up a recent issue of Evolution, American Naturalist, Ecology, etc. and be able to understand the statistical methodology used in the articles. This enables biologists to more critically evaluate the literature, and be better equipped to implement appropriate methods in their own research.