Strengthening statistical usage in marine ecology

Although within their own disciplines, the statistical, social science, medical, and terrestrial ecology literatures are replete with accounts of the widespread misapplication and misuse of statistical testing and interpretation, awareness of these issues is weak among marine scientists who are not statisticians, but whose work is nonetheless situated within the expanse of marine ecology. Moreover, the major recent developments in statistical approaches in these fields are, as yet, poorly-represented in the marine ecological literature. We present a non-technical review of (1) the most fundamental, yet pervasive, problems concerning classical statistics, with suggestions for improved practice, (2) alternate, often more appropriate and intuitive, approaches to statistical design and interpretation, and (3) the crucial roles of reviewers, and especially of editors and editorial boards. It is hoped that increasing the awareness of these issues will strengthen statistical usage in marine ecology. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.