@article{fdi:010054405,
  title = {{E}stimating immigration in neutral communities : theoretical and practical insights into the sampling properties},
  author = {{M}unoz, {F}. and {C}outeron, {P}ierre},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {1. {W}idening applications of neutral models of communities necessitates mastering the process of inferring parameters from species composition data. {I}n a previous paper, we introduced the novel conditional {GST}(k) statistic based on community composition. {W}e showed that it is a reliable basis for assessing migrant fluxes into local communities under a generalized version of the spatially implicit neutral model of {SP} {H}ubbell, which can accommodate non-neutral patterns at scales broader than the communities. 2. {W}e provide here new insights into the sampling properties of the {GST}(k) statistic and on the derived immigration number, {I}(k). {T}he analytical formulas for bias and variance are useful to assess estimation accuracy and investigate the variation of {I}(k) across communities. 3. {I}mmigration estimation is asymptotically unbiased as sample size increases. {W}e confirm the validity of our analytical results on the basis of simulated neutral communities. 4. {W}e also underline the potential of using {I}(k) as a descriptive index of community isolation, without reference to any model of community dynamics. 5. {W}e further propose a practical application of the bias and variance analysis for defining sampling designs for immigration quantification by efficiently balancing the number and size of community samples.},
  keywords = {bias ; community isolation ; {GST}(k) statistic ; immigration ; spatially ; implicit neutral model ; unified neutral theory of biodiversity and ; biogeography ; variance},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{M}ethods in {E}cology and {E}volution},
  volume = {3},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {152--161},
  ISSN = {2041-210{X}},
  year = {2012},
  DOI = {10.1111/j.2041-210{X}.2011.00133.x},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010054405},
}