Variability of biological similarity criteria.
The "allometric cancellation" technique for determining similarity criteria (dimensionless numbers) insures that these ratios are essentially free from size-dependent variation. However, with the traditional methods of calculating such values, other important sources of variation are not examined. A correlation analysis of residuals demonstrates that many similarity criteria are actually highly variable relationships among organisms and frequently have questionable empirical validity.
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Smith
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German
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Jungers
D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D001835:Body Weight; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic