Abstract
Using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) means to fit a linear regression aiming to investigate the impact of one or several predictor variables on a single response variable while controlling for potential phylogenetic signal in the response (and, hence, non-independence of the residuals). The key difference between PGLS and standard (multiple) regression is that PGLS allows us to control for residuals being potentially non-independent due to the phylogenetic history of the taxa investigated. While the assumptions of PGLS regarding the underlying processes of evolution and the correlation of the predictor and response variables with the phylogeny have received considerable attention, much less focus has been put on the checks of model reliability and stability commonly used in case of standard general linear models. However, several of these checks could be similarly applied in the context of PGLS as well. Here, I describe how such checks of model stability and reliability could be applied in the context of a PGLS and what could be done in case they reveal potential problems. Besides treating general questions regarding the conceptual and technical validity of the model, I consider issues regarding the sample size, collinearity among the predictors, the distribution of the predictors and the residuals, model stability, and drawing inference based on P-values. Finally, I emphasize the need for reporting checks of assumptions (and their results) in publications.
The original version of this chapter was revised: Online Practical Material website has been updated. The erratum to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43550-2_23
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Notes
- 1.
Having an interaction between two predictors in a model means to allow for a situation where the impact of one of the two on the response is dependent on the value or state of the other and vice versa. Interactions can involve two or more covariates, two or more factors, and any mixture of covariates and factors.
- 2.
Note that ‘number of predictors' should actually be labeled ‘number of estimated terms' (meaning that a factor would be counted as the number of its levels minus 1, interactions and squared terms need to be considered, and in the context of a PGLS a parameter like lambda needs to be counted as well).
- 3.
For estimating the effect of an interaction reasonably well, more cases per combination of the levels of the factors would be needed.
- 4.
Note that residuals of a PGLS are actually multivariate normal (Freckleton et al. 2011), which has implications for practical checks of their distribution; see the Online Practical Material (http://www.mpcm-evolution.com) for more.
- 5.
Note that this requires the model to be fitted using maximum likelihood; see the Online Practical Material (http://www.mpcm-evolution.com) for more details.
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Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to thank László Zsolt Garamszegi for inviting me to write this chapter. I also thank László Zsolt Garamszegi and two anonymous reviewers for very helpful comments on an earlier draft of this chapter. I equally owe thanks to Charles L. Nunn for initially leading my attention to the need for and rationale of phylogenetically corrected statistical analyses. During the three AnthroTree workshops held in Amherst, MA, U.S.A., in 2010–2012 and supported by the NSF (BCS-0923791) and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NSF grant EF-0905606) I learnt a lot about the philosophy and practical implementation of phylogenetic approaches to statistical analyses, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend them. This article was mainly written during a stay on the wonderful island of Læsø, Denmark, and I owe warm thanks to the staff of the hotel Havnebakken for their hospitality that made my stay very enjoyable and productive at the same time.
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Glossary
- Case
-
Set of entries in the data referring to the same taxon; represented by one row in the data set and corresponds to one tip in the phylogeny.
- Covariate
-
Quantitative predictor variable.
- Dummy coding
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Way of representing a factor in a linear model, by turning it into a set of ‘quantitative’ variables. One level of the factor is defined the ‘reference’ level (or reference category), and for each of the other levels a variable is created which is one if the respective case in the data set is of that level and zero otherwise. The estimate derived for a dummy coded variable reveals the degree by which the response in the coded level differs from that of the reference level.
- Factor
-
Qualitative (or categorical) predictor variable.
- General linear model
-
Unified approach to test the effect(s) of one or several quantitative or categorical predictors on a single quantitative response; makes the assumptions of normally and homogeneously distributed residuals; multiple regression, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and the t-tests are all just special cases of the general linear model.
- Level
-
Particular value of a factor (for instance, the factor ‘sex’ has the levels ‘female’ and ‘male’).
- Predictor (variable)
-
Variable for which its influence on the response variable should be investigated or controlled for; can be a factor or a covariate.
- Response (variable)
-
Variable being in the focus of the study and for which it should be investigated how one or several predictors influence it.
- Right (left) skewed distribution
-
Distribution with many small and few large values (a left skewed distribution shows the opposite pattern).
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Mundry, R. (2014). Statistical Issues and Assumptions of Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares. In: Garamszegi, L. (eds) Modern Phylogenetic Comparative Methods and Their Application in Evolutionary Biology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43550-2_6
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