Ordination and clustering methods are widely applied to ecological data that are non-negative (like species abundances or biomasses). These methods rely on a measure of multivariate proximity that quantifies differences between the sampling units (e.g. individuals, stations, time points), leading to results such as: Ordinations of the units, where interpoint distances optimally display the measured differences Clustering the units into homogeneous clusters Assessing differences between … Continue reading ‘Size’ and ‘Shape’ in the Measurement of Multivariate Proximity