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Testing causal structure in the biogeography of avian extinctions on oceanic islands |
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| Authors: | Tim J. Karels F. Stephen Dobson Heather S. Zimbler-DeLorenzo Amy L. Skibiel |
| Affiliation: | Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330, USA;, Centre d'Ecologie Functionelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175 du CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France;and Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA |
| Abstract: | In their recent comment in this journal, T. M. Blackburn and colleagues called into question the use of standardized partial regression modelling (also called path analysis and structural equation modelling) when null expectations for regression coefficients are not zero. Here, we answer their critique by showing how randomization can be used to illuminate and interpret causal modelling in analyses that have non-zero expectations. Causal modelling is a powerful tool that can yield novel insights in biogeography when properly interpreted. |
| Keywords: | Avifauna causal modelling extinction island area island isolation path analysis predators structural equation modelling |