A consistent metric for nestedness analysis in ecological systems: reconciling concept and measurement

Nestedness has been widely reported for both metacommunities and networks of interacting species. Even though the concept of this ecological pattern has been well‐defined, there are several metrics by which it can be quantified. We noted that current metrics do not correctly quantify two major properties of nestedness: (1) whether marginal totals (i.e. fills) differ among columns and/or among rows, and (2) whether the presences (1's) in less‐filled columns and rows coincide, respectively, with those found in the more‐filled columns and rows. We propose a new metric directly based on these properties and compare its behavior with that of the most used metrics, using a set of model matrices ranging from…

• FD
  Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico