Clarifying the relationship between body size and extinction risk in amphibians by complete mapping of model space.

ABSTRACT: In vertebrates, large body size is often a key diagnostic feature of species threatened with extinction. However, in amphibians the link between body size and extinction risk is highly uncertain, with previous studies suggesting positive, negative, u-shaped, or no relationship. Part of the reason for this uncertainty is 'researcher degrees of freedom': the subjectivity and selectivity in choices associated with specifying and fitting models. Here, I clarify the size-threat association in amphibians using Specification Curve Analysis, an analytical approach from the social sciences that attempts to minimize this problem by complete mapping of model space. I find strong support for prevailing negative associations between body size and threat status, the opposite of patterns typical in other

SUBMITTER: Cardillo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7893221 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature