A brief introduction to mixed effects modelling and multi-model inference in ecology
Bibliographic Data
The use of linear mixed effects models (LMMs) is increasingly common in the analysis of biological data. Whilst LMMs offer a flexible approach to modelling a broad range of data types, ecological data are often complex and require complex model structures, and the fitting and interpretation of such models is not always straightforward. The ability to achieve robust biological inference requires that practitioners know how and when to apply these tools. Here, we provide a general overview of current methods for the application of LMMs to biological data, and highlight the typical pitfalls that can be encountered in the statistical modelling process. We tackle several issues regarding methods of model selection, with particular reference to the use of information theory and multi-model inference in ecology. We offer practical solutions and direct the reader to key references that provide further technical detail for those seeking a deeper understanding. This overview should serve as a widely accessible code of best practice for applying LMMs to complex biological problems and model structures, and in doing so improve the robustness of conclusions drawn from studies investigating ecological and evolutionary questions.
Bioinformatics · Biological data · Data mining · Data science · Inference · Machine learning · Management science · Model selection · Robustness (evolution) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Ecology · Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies · Engineering · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Fire severity shapes asynchronous herbaceous and shrub recovery along contrasting soil-recovery pathways in a subtropical Pinus massoniana plantation
Effects of paleoclimatic variables on suitable open habitats for Pleistocene–Holocene megafauna in South America
Age, sex, and inflammatory markers predict chronic conditions, cardiac disease, and mortality among captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Rushing for “burned” food
Local ecological knowledge of Javan gibbon occurrence and habitat conditions in Petungkriyono, Central Java
Die Phonetik von äh und ähm
Changing trends and perceptions of sea turtle egg consumption in Redang Island, Malaysia
Violating the normality assumption may be the lesser of two evils
Online teaching self-efficacy during Covid-19
Estimating power in (generalized) linear mixed models
Robustness of linear mixed‐effects models to violations of distributional assumptions
Changing climate sensitivity of secondary growth following extreme drought events in forest ecosystems
Shrub growth in the Alps diverges from air temperature since the 1990s
Sea surface temperature in coral reef restoration outcomes
Differences Between High and Low Self-Critics in Compassionate Facial Expression
Regional insights into the relationship between metabolic associated steatotic liver disease and chronic kidney disease
Does Bird Diversity Affect Public Mental Health in Urban Mountain Parks?—A Case Study in Fuzhou City, China
Identifying Patterns of Symptom Distress in Pregnant Women
Coping strategies predicting resilience to academic difficulties in students with mental and/or physical chronic health conditions
Improving health behaviors through microenvironment changes
Using linear mixed models to analyze data from eye-tracking research on subtitling
Gibbon focused tourism as a conservation tool
Study Burnout and Engagement During Covid-19 Among University Students
Belief in fake news, responsiveness to cognitive conflict, and analytic reasoning engagement
Exploring the Spatial Relationship Between Carbon Storage and Biodiversity
Effects of transformational leadership and the stress of the Covid-19 lockdown on employee’s performance
Episodic memory and recognition are influenced by cues’ sensory modality
Transport makes cities
How pre-service teacher self-efficacy changes during the professional experience placement
Transitioning into the first year of teaching
Cetaceans as sentinels for informing climate change policy in UK waters
The relative effects of access to public greenspace and private gardens on mental health
Absence of a Luxury Effect on bird alpha diversity in a rapidly developing African city, but surrounding landscape is key
Exploring how urban nature is associated with human wellbeing in a neotropical city
Improving speech perception in noise in young and older adults using transcranial magnetic stimulation
Listeners are sensitive to the speech breathing time series
Basic word order typology revisited
The potential effects of climate change on subsistence farmers’ wellbeing in tropical (sub)montane homegardens. A case study on Mount Kilimanjaro
The contributing external load factors to internal load during small-sided games in professional rugby union players
Characterizing human mobility and its impact on the spread of Covid-19 during extreme weather events
An evaluation of self‐management outcomes among chronic care patients in community home‐based care programmes in rural Malawi
Factors Influencing Communities’ Attitudes and Participation in Protected Area Conservation
Educational attainment is associated with unconditional helping behaviour
Adverse childhood circumstances and cognitive function in middle-aged and older Chinese adults
Acquisition and attrition in bilingual vowel systems
Quantifying the importance of urban trees to people and nature through tree removal experiments
Predicting animal abundance through local ecological knowledge
Public perceptions of an avian reintroduction aiming to connect people with nature
The interplay between actual and perceived air pollution, physical activity, and stress across mobility-based geographic contexts
Variable infant care contributions in cooperatively breeding groups of wild saddleback tamarins
Investigating Multimodal (Visual, Acoustic, and Thermal) Ovulatory Signaling in a Non‐Human Primate Species ( Cercocebus torquatus )
Early life maternal sociality predicts juvenile sociality in blue monkeys
Evaluating individual biomarkers for predicting health risks in zoo‐housed chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) and bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
Oral Processing Behaviors of Golden Monkeys ( Cercopithecus mitis kandti ) From Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda
Investment in science can mitigate the negative impacts of land use on declining primate populations
Dietary generalists and nutritional specialists
Linear Mixed-Effects Models for Dependent Data
An acoustic analysis of Oromo vowels of the northern dialect
Grandpa’ or ‘opera’? Production and perception of unstressed /a/ and /əʁ/ in German
Illicit drug prices and quantity discounts
The Effects of Social Factors and Kinship on Co-sleeping of Black-and-Gold Howler Monkeys (Alouatta caraya)
Social Correlates of and Reasons for Primate Meat Consumption in Central Amazonia
Maternal Behavior in Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii) is Modulated by Mother-Offspring Characteristics and Socioecological Factors
A National-Level Assessment of Lemur Hunting Pressure in Madagascar
Observer effects in a remote population of large-headed capuchins, Sapajus macrocephalus
Temporal distribution of schedule‐induced behavior depends on the essential value of the reinforcer
Better Bang for the Buck? Generalizing Trust in Online Drug Markets
Wild chimpanzee offspring exhibit adult‐like foraging patterns around the age of weaning
Assessing individual and population variability in degenerative joint disease prevalence using generalized linear mixed models
Not all fine-branch locomotion is equal
The effect of bi-iliac breadth on core body temperature
Conservation education promotes positive short- and medium-term changes in perceptions and attitudes towards a threatened primate species
The Relative Importance of "Cooperative Context" and Kinship in Structuring Cooperative Behavior
Understanding the drivers of the live bird trade in Brazil
Analysis of the tendency to select the "neither nor" option in agreement/disagreement scales on a low - salience topic
Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists
Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R
Negative Binomial Regression
Conclusions beyond support
PiecewiseSEM
A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems
Null hypothesis significance testing
Why do we still use stepwise modelling in ecology and behaviour?
A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination
Cryptic multiple hypotheses testing in linear models
Approximate Inference in Generalized Linear Mixed Models
Multimodel inference in ecology and evolution: challenges and solutions
Collinearity
Model Selection and Multimodel Inference
Confronting Multicollinearity in Ecological Multiple Regression
Extension of Nakagawa & Schielzeth's R 2 GLMM to random slopes models
A brief guide to model selection, multimodel inference and model averaging in behavioural ecology using Akaike’s information criterion
Arm
Scaling regression inputs by dividing by two standard deviations
Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients
AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioral ecology
The coefficient of determination R 2 and intra-class correlation coefficient from generalized linear mixed-effects models revisited and expanded
Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing
Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4
A general and simple method for obtaining R 2 from generalized linear mixed‐effects models
Multimodel Inference
| Unique citing works | 75 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10,71 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 68 |