@article{fdi:010048269,
  title = {{S}tudying ecological communities from a neutral standpoint : a review of models' structure and parameter estimation},
  author = {{B}eeravolu, {C}. {R}. and {C}outeron, {P}ierre and {P}{\'e}lissier, {R}apha{\¨e}l and {M}unoz, {F}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{N}eutral models provide an alternative to niche-based assembly rules of ecological communities by assuming that communities' properties are shaped by the stochastic interplay between ecological drift, migration and speciation. {T}he recent and ongoing interest about neutral assumptions has produced many developments on the theoretical side, with nevertheless limited echoes in terms of analyses of real-world data. {T}he present review paper aims to help bridge the widening gap between modellers and field ecologists through two objectives. {F}irst, to provide a multi-criteria typology of the main neutral models, including those from population genetics that have not yet been transposed to ecology, by considering how the fundamental processes of ecological drift, speciation and migration are modelled and, specifically, how space is taken into account. {S}econd, to review methods recently proposed to estimate models parameters from field data, a point that should be mastered to allow for broader applications.},
  keywords = {{C}ommunity ecology ; {C}ommunity models ; {D}ispersal limitation ; {P}opulation genetics models ; {P}arameter inference ; {U}nified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{E}cological {M}odelling},
  volume = {220},
  numero = {20},
  pages = {2603--2610},
  ISSN = {0304-3800},
  year = {2009},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.06.041},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010048269},
}