| Abstract |
Book Description
The success of the first edition of Generalized Linear Models led to the updated Second Edition, which continues to provide a definitive unified, treatment of methods for the analysis of diverse types of data. Today, it remains popular for its clarity, richness of content and direct relevance to agricultural, biological, health, engineering, and other applications. The authors focus on examining the way a response variable depends on a combination of explanatory variables, treatment, and classification variables. They give particular emphasis to the important case where the dependence occurs through some unknown, linear combination of the explanatory variables. The Second Edition includes topics added to the core of the first edition, including conditional and marginal likelihood methods, estimating equations, and models for dispersion effects and components of dispersion. The discussion of other topics-log-linear and related models, log odds-ratio regression models, multinomial response models, inverse linear and related models, quasi-likelihood functions, and model checking-was expanded and incorporates significant revisions. Comprehension of the material requires simply a knowledge of matrix theory and the basic ideas of probability theory, but for the most part, the book is self-contained. Therefore, with its worked examples, plentiful exercises, and topics of direct use to researchers in many disciplines, Generalized Linear Models serves as ideal text, self-study guide, and reference. |
| Abstract |
Demographic data relating to herd size and stability are given for a population of Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) under longterm observation. Temporal dispersion patterns of male and female offspring differed and were independent of the mother's status. Dispersion in females appeared to be related to physiological state, and dispersion in both sexes was related to age rather than changes in parental behaviour. Reproductive success of dominant and subordinate mares was equal and independent of age and social and reproductive variables. Fitness of dominant mares, however, was significantly higher than that of subordinates, the latter having a higher foal mortality, part of which could be attributable to dominants' aggression. The fitness of all males born was 1.6:1 compared with all females. Dominant mares produced significantly more daughters than sons. This trend was not found for subordinates. Mother's status was positively correlated with dominant status in her female offspring but not related to the subsequent status of her sons. Daughters had a more than twice as great a chance of breeding than sons. For maximum fitness gains, therefore, dominant mares should produce more daughters, since a high proportion of these would also have high status and fitness. This tendency is reflected in the sex ratio skewed towards females found for dominant mares. |
