When working with contemporary spatial ecological datasets, statistical modellers are often confronted by two major challenges: (I) the need for covariance models with the flexibility to accommodate directional patterns of anisotropy; and (II) the computational effort demanded by high-dimensional inverse and determinant problems involving the covariance matrix \(\vec {V}\). In the case of rectangular

This paper presents an extension of the Geostatistical model under preferential sampling in order to accommodate possible local repulsion effects. This local repulsion can be caused by the researcher in charge of collecting data who, after observing the stochastic process of interest in a specific location, avoids collecting new samples near this place. Proceeding in this way, the resulting sampling

Flash floods have devastating power due to their high rainfall intensities and short durations, causing serious damage to infrastructure and human life. Recent observations in the desert environment of Kuwait witnessed an increase in rainfall extremes, and the currently adopted intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves constructed three decades ago did not produce reliable design frequencies for existing

Optimizing sustainable renewable energy portfolios is one of the most complicated decision making problems in energy policy planning. This process involves meeting the decision maker’s preferences, which can be uncertain, while considering several conflicting criteria, such as environmental, societal, and economic impact. In this paper, rather than using existing techniques, a novel multi-objective

We develop a new method for estimating population abundance for notoriously difficult to count populations. This is made possible using an easy to count auxiliary population with a known link to the target population under the framework of a layered hidden Markov model. We apply the new methods to estimate the breeding population of an Ancient Murrelet seabird colony, using Ancient Murrelet chicks

We propose a new extended regression model based on the logarithm of the generalized odd log-logistic Weibull distribution with four systematic components for the analysis of survival data. This regression model can be very useful and could give more realistic fits than other special regression models. We obtain the maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters for censored data and address

We investigate a framework for improving predictions from models for spatio-temporal data. The framework is based on minimising the mean squared prediction error and can be applied to many models. We applied the framework to a model for monthly rainfall data in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. Across a range of prediction situations, we improved the predictive accuracy compared to predictions

In this paper we present a weighted mixture distribution component counts (MDCC) approach for estimating total number of species. The proposed method combines conditional estimates of component counts from several candidate mixture distributions and uses bootstrap for confidence interval estimation. The distribution specification is flexible and can be adjusted to suit a variety of datasets. Smoothing

We propose a spatiotemporal generalized von Bertalanffy (vonB) growth model that also includes between-individual (BI) variation and male/female correlation. The generalized vonB model includes the effect of maturation on growth. The model and the methodology are applied to a long time-series of survey observations of age and length for American plaice on the Grand Bank off the northeast coast of Canada

Few studies have attempted to study the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis at the individual sector level using more than one sector at once. This paper investigates the existence of the EKC hypothesis in the Iberian countries (Portugal and Spain) using thirteen economic activity sectors for each, analyzing each individual sector’s cointegration and causality relationships considering carbon

When investigating extremes of weather variables, it is seldom that a single weather station determines the damage, and extremes may be caused from the combined behaviour of several weather stations. To investigate joint dependence of extreme wind speed, a bivariate generalised extreme value distribution (BGEVD) was considered from frequentist and Bayesian approaches to analyse the extremes of component-wise

The statistical analysis of environmental data from remote sensing and Earth system simulations often entails the analysis of gridded spatio-temporal data, with a hypothesis test being performed for each grid cell. When the whole image or a set of grid cells are analyzed for a global effect, the problem of multiple testing arises. When no global effect is present, we expect \( \alpha \)% of all grid

Species distribution modelling (SDM) is a family of statistical methods where species occurrence/density/richness are combined with environmental predictors to create predictive spatial models of species distribution. However, it often turns out that due to complex multi-level interactions between predictors and the response function, different types of models can detect different numbers of important

Cetacean abundance estimation often relies on distance sampling methods using shipboard visual line-transect surveys, which assumes that all animals on the trackline are detected and that the detection of animals decreases with increasing distance from the trackline. Mark–Recapture Distance Sampling (MRDS) typically employs a secondary visual observation team and may be used to identify the fraction

The results show that a comprehensive evaluation system consisting of natural resources, pollution response, government management, and legal involvement can systematically assess the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of environmental governance. The information entropy weight (IEW) method and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) are jointly used to analyze the

The paper proposes a new perspective in the environmental and resource economics literature by examining innovation (measured by R&D expenditures), FDI (measured by country–country technology transfer), and energy–environment–growth nexus. Using simultaneous equation modelling (SEMs), three econometric functions were formulated for production, energy consumption, and environmental pollution with GDP

For spatial linear regression, the traditional approach to capture spatial dependence is to use a parametric linear mixed-effects model. Spline surfaces can be used as an alternative to capture spatial variability, giving rise to a semiparametric method that does not require the specification of a parametric covariance structure. The spline component in such a semiparametric method, however, impacts

In this note we would like to point out that the lower bound estimator of the frequency of hidden units in a target population, developed by Chao in ecology, was developed independently in astro-physics and has been used to estimate the size of flare stars in the Pleiades.

For many clustered populations, the prior information on an initial stratification exists but the exact pattern of the population concentration may not be predicted. Under this situation, the stratified adaptive cluster sampling (SACS) may provide more efficient estimates than the other conventional sampling designs for the estimation of rare and clustered population parameters. For practical interest

To qualify niche space and niche overlap, the current methods are based on a strict assumption of the normal distribution and restrict dependence to the linear structure between resource axes. In this study, we propose a new method for measuring the stoichiometric niche space and niche overlap based on copula theory. Our method does not require the resource axes to obey the multivariate normal distribution

Functional data analysis tools, such as function-on-function regression models, have received considerable attention in various scientific fields because of their observed high-dimensional and complex data structures. Several statistical procedures, including least squares, maximum likelihood, and maximum penalized likelihood, have been proposed to estimate such function-on-function regression models

This paper develops statistical inference for population mean and total using stratified judgment post-stratified (SJPS) samples. The SJPS design selects a judgment post-stratified sample from each stratum. Hence, in addition to stratum structure, it induces additional ranking structure within stratum samples. SJPS is constructed from a finite population using either a with or without replacement sampling

Statistical packages such as edgeR and DESeq are intended to detect genes that are relevant to phenotypic traits and diseases. A few studies have also modeled the relationships between gene expressions and traits. In the presence of multicollinearity and outliers, which are unavoidable in genetic data, the robust ridge regression estimator can be applied with the trait value as the response variable

The mitigation of CO2 emissions requires a global effort with common but differentiated responsibilities. In this paper, we identify clusters of CO2 emissions across 72 countries. First, using the stochastic version of the IPAT and employing the dynamic common correlated effects technique, we identify three key determinants affecting CO2 emissions (non-renewables, population, and real GDP). In the

Model averaging is commonly used to allow for model uncertainty in parameter estimation. As well as providing a point estimate that is a natural compromise between the estimates from different models, it also provides confidence intervals with better coverage properties, compared to those based on a single best model. In recent years, the concept of a confidence distribution has been promoted as a

An important objective of experimental biology is the quantification of the relationship between sets of predictor and response variables, a statistical analysis often termed variance partitioning (VP). In this paper, a series of simulations is presented, aiming to generate quantitative estimates of the expected statistical uncertainty of VP analyses. We demonstrate scenarios with considerable uncertainty

A spatiotemporal calibration and resolution refinement model was fitted to calibrate nitrogen dioxide (\(\hbox {NO}_2\)) concentration estimates from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, using two sources of observed data on \(\hbox {NO}_2\) that differed in their spatial and temporal resolutions. To refine the spatial resolution of the CMAQ model estimates, we leveraged information using

Much of what is known about bottle nose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) anatomy and physiology is based on necropsies from stranding events. Measurements of total body length, total body mass, and age are used to estimate growth. It is more feasible to retrieve and transport smaller animals for total body mass measurement than larger animals, introducing a systematic bias in sampling. Adverse weather

Sources of particulate matter (PM) air pollution are generally inferred from PM chemical constituent concentrations using source apportionment models. Concentrations of PM constituents are often censored below minimum detection limits (MDL) and most source apportionment models cannot handle these censored data. Frequently, censored data are first substituted by a constant proportion of the MDL or are

In this paper we describe a coherent multiple testing procedure for correlated test statistics such as are encountered in functional linear models. The procedure makes use of two different p-value combination methods: the Fisher combination method and the Šidák correction-based method. P-values for Fisher's and Šidák's test statistics are estimated through resampling to cope with the correlated tests

The development of models that provide accurate spatio-temporal predictions of ambient air pollution at small spatial scales is of great importance for the assessment of potential health effects of air pollution. Here we present a spatio-temporal framework that predicts ambient air pollution by combining data from several different monitoring networks and deterministic air pollution model(s) with geographic

Many advancements have been introduced to tackle spatial and temporal structures in data. When the spatial and/or temporal domains are relatively large, assumptions must be made to account for the sheer size of the data. The large data size, coupled with realities that come with observational data, make it difficult for all of these assumptions to be met. In particular, air quality data are very sparse

We propose a space-time stick-breaking process for the disease cluster estimation. The dependencies for spatial and temporal effects are introduced by using space-time covariate dependent kernel stick-breaking processes. We compared this model with the space-time standard random effect model by checking each model's ability in terms of cluster detection of various shapes and sizes. This comparison

Recent years have witnessed the growth of new information technologies and their applications to various disciplines. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate how the two innovative methods, upper level set scan (ULS) hotspot detection and the multicriterion prioritization scheme, facilitate population health and break new ground in public health surveillance. It is believed that the social environment

This paper extends the spatial local-likelihood model and the spatial mixture model to the space-time (ST) domain. For comparison, a standard random effect space-time (SREST) model is examined to allow evaluation of each model's ability in relation to cluster detection. To pursue this evaluation, we use the ST counterparts of spatial cluster detection diagnostics. The proposed criteria are based on

Many statistical tests have been developed to assess the significance of clusters of disease located around known sources of environmental contaminants, also known as focused disease clusters. The majority of focused-cluster tests were designed to detect a particular spatial pattern of clustering, one in which the disease cluster centers around the pollution source and declines in a radial fashion

The spatial scan statistic is a widely applied tool for cluster detection. The spatial scan statistic evaluates the significance of a series of potential circular clusters using Monte Carlo simulation to account for the multiplicity of comparisons. In most settings, the extent of the multiplicity problem varies across the study region. For example, urban areas typically have many overlapping clusters

A primary objective in quantitative risk assessment is the characterization of risk which is defined to be the likelihood of an adverse effect caused by an environmental toxin or chemcial agent. In modern risk-benchmark analysis, attention centers on the "benchmark dose" at which a fixed benchmark level of risk is achieved, with a lower confidence limits on this dose being of primary interest. In practice

In modern environmental risk analysis, inferences are often desired on those low dose levels at which a fixed benchmark risk is achieved. In this paper, we study the use of confidence limits on parameters from a simple one-stage model of risk historically popular in benchmark analysis with quantal data. Based on these confidence bounds, we present methods for deriving upper confidence limits on extra

The three papers included in this special issue represent a set of presentations in an invited session on disease ecology at the 2005 Spring Meeting of the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society. The papers each address statistical estimation and inference for particular components of different disease processes and, taken together, illustrate the breadth of statistical

Boundary analysis of cancer maps may highlight areas where causative exposures change through geographic space, the presence of local populations with distinct cancer incidences, or the impact of different cancer control methods. Too often, such analysis ignores the spatial pattern of incidence or mortality rates and overlooks the fact that rates computed from sparsely populated geographic entities

This paper develops and applies new techniques for the simultaneous detection of boundaries and clusters within a probabilistic framework. The new statistic "little b" (written b(ij)) evaluates boundaries between adjacent areas with different values, as well as links between adjacent areas with similar values. Clusters of high values (hotspots) and low values (coldspots) are then constructed by joining

This study investigates the role of tourism growth in generating additional energy consumption in the case of major tourist countries. Panel data that range from 1995 to 2014 have thus been constructed. Significant results of this study confirm long term economic effects of tourism growth in energy usage in tourist destinations; tourism exerts positively significant but inelastic effects on the overall

We introduce a new type of threshold regression models called upper hinge models. Under this type of threshold models, there only exists an association between the predictor of interest and the outcome when the predictor is less than some threshold value. Just like hinge models, upper hinge models can be seen as a special case of the more general segmented or two-phase regression models. The importance

The majority of control charts based on scan statistics for spatio-temporal surveillance use full observation vectors. In high-dimensional applications, dimension-reduction techniques are usually applied. Typically, the dimension reduction is conducted as a post-processing step rather than in the data acquisition stage and thus, a full sample covariance matrix is required. When the dimensionality of

In order to promote the construction of disaster prevention and reduction of ethnic minority aggregation areas, in this study the Qijiawan community of the Hui people in Nanjing was taken as an example in order to build an evaluation index system of the disaster reduction ability of ethnic minority aggregation areas. In the research process, data were collected in the form of expert scores, the weights

Human activities are increasingly affecting the planet and its sustainability by degrading and damaging the environment. The literature on this topic has demonstrated that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and human development (HD) are important promoters of progress towards environmental sustainability. The impact of these factors is most often examined by using standard regression

Radon-222 is a naturally occurring radioactive gas arising from the decay of Uranium-238 present in the earth’s crust. The knowledge of the radon effects on human health is generating a growing attention by national and international authorities aimed at assessing the exposure of people to this radioactive gas and identifying building types and geographic areas where high indoor radon concentrations