Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 816–827 Abstract Statistical models are the traditional choice to
test scientific theories when observations, processes or boundary conditions are subject to …

The species abundance distribution (SAD) is an important concept in ecology, and much
work has focused on the SAD in a theoretical context. However, less focus has been placed …

The factors determining species commonness and rarity are poorly understood, particularly
in highly diverse communities. Theory predicts that interactions with neighbors of the same …

The simplest theories often have much merit and many limitations, and, in this vein, the
value of neutral theory (NT) of biodiversity has been the subject of much debate over the …

Published in 2001, The U nified N eutral T heory of B iodiversity and B iogeography (UNTB)
emphasizes the importance of stochastic processes in ecological community structure, and …

Although both niche‐based and neutral processes are involved in community assembly,
most models on the effects of habitat loss are stochastic, assuming neutral communities …

It is widely believed that the neutral theory of biodiversity cannot be used for parameter
inference if the assumption of neutrality is not met. The goal of this work is to extend this …

Summarizing complex temporal dynamics in communities is difficult to achieve in a way that
yields an intuitive picture of change. Rank clocks and rank abundance statistics provide a …

Aim Ecologists have generally agreed that β‐diversity is driven at least in part by ecological
processes and mechanisms of community assembly and is a key determinant of global …

Continuous and significant progress in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics
pipelines has revolutionized our comprehension of microbial communities, especially for …