User-Friendly Multivariate Analysis for Linking Predictive Water Quality Models to Biological Data Janna Owens

Water Quality Monitoring w Physical, chemical and biological assessments w Calculate environmental impacts w Create models of water processes as predictive tools for physical/chemical data w Ideally, a compatible framework would integrate biological data

PRIMER software w Plymouth Research Routines in Multivariate Ecological Research w Coherent strategy for interpretation of community structure w Wide range univariate/multivariate routines w Ease of use and comprehension

Predictive Model

w Deterministic models do not directly evaluate larger biological organisms w Won’t simulate many aspects of complex community w Statistical data modeling integrates biological and environmental variables w Basic methodologies: Cluster and Ordination Aquatic Biological Modeling

w techniques to classify objects w Biological classification verified by environmental variables w Difficult to use with environmental gradients w Requires extensive database w Mutivariate data presented in 2 dimensions w Sample (dis)similarity represented by proximity in space w Determines variables that affect biological data w Spatial distortion possible without caution Cluster vs. Ordination

Cluster Analysis ?

Hierarchical Cluster Stable Unstable

Ordination Analysis Multi- Variable

PCA PC Eigenvalue %Variation Cum.%Variation

PCA cont.

Stable sites: Less Urbanization Unstable sites: More Urbanization MDS

MDS Trajectory

ANOSIM

Dominance Curves 3 ~ 67% ~ 27% Sites Species rank by abundance Cumulative Dominance (%)

Aggregation ;-)

Phylogenetic Diversity

TAXTEST 95%

Sample Spreadsheet

Applications w More productive data mining w Allow merging of historical and diverse sample efforts w Comparison to a variety of predictive models to assess trends w Universal comprehension

Acknowledgments w US EPA Region IV w Dr. Andrew Simon, USDA, National Sedimentation Lab w Drs. Angus and Marion, UAB w Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M Change in Marine Communities: An approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation, Bourne Press Ltd., Bournemouth, U.K.

Questions?