Thanks all for your helpful contributions! I will use phylosignal.

Ted, I'm not sure I understand your last comment, "when the data are not though 
of as continuous-valued and/or evolving similar to Brownian motion". What do 
you mean by that? Also, are you suggesting that I report the presence/absence 
of phylogenetic signal, but not the value of the K statistic?

Many thanks again,

Nina


On 2012-04-25, at 5:54 PM, Theodore Garland Jr wrote:

> However, calculating a K statistic is strange when the data are not thought 
> of as continuous-valued and/or evolving similar to Brownian motion.  The 
> randomization test is OK, however.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ted
> 
> From: Alejandro Gonzalez [[email protected]]
> 
> Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 8:46 AM
> 
> To: Theodore Garland Jr
> 
> Cc: Nina Hobbhahn; [email protected]
> 
> Subject: Re: [R-sig-phylo] Normality requirement for assessment of lambda 
> with phylosig (phytools) and fitContinuous (geiger)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The library picante in R implements Blomberg et al (2003) K estimate, Liam's 
> phytools package does as well. Phytools has the added advantage, if I 
> remember correctly, of allowing users to estimate K including within species 
> variation.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Alejandro
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 25, Apr 2012, at 5:29 PM, Theodore Garland Jr wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> I would suggest the randomization test in Blomberg et al. (2003).  This will 
> give a valid significance test of the null hypothesis of no phylogenetic 
> signal.  By itself, it does not give a measure of the strength (or amount) of 
> phylogenetic signal.  Not
> sure if it is implented in r.  If not, I can send our Matlab code.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ted
> 
> 
> 
> Theodore Garland, Jr.
> 
> Professor
> 
> Department of Biology
> 
> University of California, Riverside
> 
> Riverside, CA 92521
> 
> Office Phone:  (951) 827-3524
> 
> Home Phone:  (951) 328-0820
> 
> Facsimile:  (951) 827-4286 = Dept. office (not confidential)
> 
> Email:  [email protected]
> 
> http://www.biology.ucr.edu/people/faculty/Garland.html
> 
> 
> 
> Experimental Evolution: Concepts, Methods, and Applications of Selection 
> Experiments. 2009.
> 
> Edited by Theodore Garland, Jr. and Michael R. Rose
> 
> http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520261808
> 
> (PDFs of chapters are available from me or from the individual authors)
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> 
> From: [email protected] [[email protected]] 
> on behalf of Nina Hobbhahn [[email protected]]
> 
> Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 1:55 AM
> 
> To: [email protected]
> 
> Subject: [R-sig-phylo] Normality requirement for assessment of lambda with    
>   phylosig (phytools) and fitContinuous (geiger)
> 
> 
> 
> Dear fellow list users,
> 
> 
> 
> I would like to assess the magnitude of phylogenetic signal in two sets of 
> continuous data. Set 1 contains numerous zeros and is therefore non-normal. 
> Set 2 contains very little variation and is non-normal due to 
> underdispersion. Given that both data sets are
> largely immune to transformations to normality, I am wondering whether the 
> lambda estimates for untransformed data derived from phylosig and 
> fitContinuous will be meaningful? If not, can you recommend transformations 
> or other methods of phylogenetic-signal
> assessment that would be preferable?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you very much,
> 
> 
> 
> Nina
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dr. Nina Hobbhahn
> 
> Post-doctoral fellow
> 
> Lab of Prof. S. D. Johnson
> 
> School of Life Sciences
> 
> University of KwaZulu-Natal
> 
> Private Bag X01
> 
> Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, 3201
> 
> South Africa

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