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AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioral ecology: some background, observations, and comparisons

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An Erratum to this article was published on 22 October 2010

Abstract

We briefly outline the information-theoretic (I-T) approaches to valid inference including a review of some simple methods for making formal inference from all the hypotheses in the model set (multimodel inference). The I-T approaches can replace the usual t tests and ANOVA tables that are so inferentially limited, but still commonly used. The I-T methods are easy to compute and understand and provide formal measures of the strength of evidence for both the null and alternative hypotheses, given the data. We give an example to highlight the importance of deriving alternative hypotheses and representing these as probability models. Fifteen technical issues are addressed to clarify various points that have appeared incorrectly in the recent literature. We offer several remarks regarding the future of empirical science and data analysis under an I-T framework.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank The Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University for continuous support. We appreciate the help of Robert Montgomerie and that of two anonymous reviewers as these helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Kenneth P. Burnham & David R. Anderson

  2. Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Kathryn P. Huyvaert

Authors
  1. Kenneth P. Burnham
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth P. Burnham.

Additional information

Communicated by L. Garamszegi

This contribution is part of the Special Issue “Model selection, multimodel inference and information-theoretic approaches in behavioral ecology” (see Garamszegi 2010).

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1084-z

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Burnham, K.P., Anderson, D.R. & Huyvaert, K.P. AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioral ecology: some background, observations, and comparisons. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65, 23–35 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1029-6

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