A note on seasonal variation in radiolarian abundance

Abstract

A statistical analysis of two consecutive sequences of observations on\break radiolarian abundances in the western North Pacific, by methods appropriate to data on the simplex (i.e. compositional data) show that although the overall graphical presentations of the frequencies appear similar there are in effect, substantial differences, particular in the earlier part of each of the series. The results of the multivariate analyses are used for identifying those species that contribute most to the analysis. A brief guide to the mathematical properties of compositional data is given. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.