Working Group

A working group to solve problems in model selection and phylogeny in mixed multi-factor meta-analysis

PI(s): Jason Hoeksema (University of Mississippi)
Start Date: 2-Nov-2011
End Date: 31-Dec-2013
Keywords: meta-analysis, species interactions, phylogenetics, local adaptation, software

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used for syntheses of results from numerous independent studies. Increasingly, evolutionary biologists need to perform meta-analysis in which the effects of numerous explanatory variables on a response variable of interest are considered, taking into account the evolutionary history of the species in the dataset. However, such analyses require analysis of numerous complex statistical models, and methods for such analyses have not been previously developed. Our working group is developing these methods and applying them to understand local adaptation, context-dependency, and the influence of evolutionary relationships on outcomes of symbiosis between plants and mycorrhizal fungi.