A unified, up-to-date account of circular data-handling techniques, useful throughout science.

Circular Statistics in R provides the most comprehensive guide to the analysis of circular data in over a decade. Circular data arise in many scientific contexts whether it be angular directions such as: observed compass directions of departure of radio-collared migratory birds from a release point; bond angles measured in different molecules; wind directions at different times of year at a wind farm; direction of stress-fractures in concrete bridge supports; longitudes of earthquake epicentres or seasonal and daily activity patterns, for example: data on the times of day at which animals are caught in a camera trap, or in 911 calls in New York, or in internet traffic; variation throughout the year in measles incidence, global energy requirements, TV viewing figures or injuries to athletes. The natural way of representing such data graphically is as points located around the circumference of a circle, hence their name. Importantly, circular variables are periodic in nature and the origin, or zero point, such as the beginning of a new year, is defined arbitrarily rather than necessarily emerging naturally from the system. This book will be of value both to those new to circular data analysis as well as those more familiar with the field. For beginners, the authors start by considering the fundamental graphical and numerical summaries used to represent circular data before introducing distributions that might be used to model them. They go on to discuss basic forms of inference such as point and interval estimation, as well as formal significance tests for hypotheses that will often be of scientific interest. When discussing model fitting, the authors advocate reduced reliance on the classical von Mises distribution; showcasing distributions that are capable of modelling features such as asymmetry and varying levels of kurtosis that are often exhibited by circular data. The use of likelihood-based and computer-intensive approaches to inference and modelling are stressed throughout the book. The R programming language is used to implement the methodology, particularly its "circular" package. Also provided are over 150 new functions for techniques not already covered within R. This concise but authoritative guide is accessible to the diverse range of scientists who have circular data to analyse and want to do so as easily and as effectively as possible.

This research monograph on circular data analysis covers some recent advances in the field, besides providing a brief introduction to, and a review of, existing methods and models. The primary focus is on recent research into topics such as change-point problems, predictive distributions, circular correlation and regression, etc. An important feature of this work is the S-plus subroutines provided for analyzing actual data sets. Coupled with the discussion of new theoretical research, the book should benefit both the researcher and the practitioner. Contents: Circular Probability Distributions; Some Sampling Distributions; Estimation of Parameters; Tests for Mean Direction and Concentration; Tests for Uniformity; Nonparametric Testing Procedures; Circular Correlation and Regression; Predictive Inference for Directional Data; Outliers and Related Problems; Change-Point Problems; Miscellaneous Topics; Some Facts on Bessel Functions; How to Use the CircStats Package. Readership: Researchers and practitioners dealing with circular data.

This research monograph on circular data analysis covers some recent advances in the field, besides providing a brief introduction to, and a review of, existing methods and models. The primary focus is on recent research into topics such as change-point problems, predictive distributions, circular correlation and regression, etc. An important feature of this work is the S-plus subroutines provided for analyzing actual data sets. Coupled with the discussion of new theoretical research, the book should benefit both the researcher and the practitioner.

Find the right algorithm for your image processing applicationExploring the recent achievements that have occurred since the mid-1990s, Circular and Linear Regression: Fitting Circles and Lines by Least Squares explains how to use modern algorithms to fit geometric contours (circles and circular arcs) to observed data in image processing and comput

As climate change continues to dominate the international environmental agenda, phenology – the study of the timing of recurring biological events – has received increasing research attention, leading to an emerging consensus that phenology can be viewed as an ‘early warning system’ for climate change impact. A multidisciplinary science involving many branches of ecology, geography and remote sensing, phenology to date has lacked a coherent methodological text. This new synthesis, including contributions from many of the world’s leading phenologists, therefore fills a critical gap in the current biological literature. Providing critiques of current methods, as well as detailing novel and emerging methodologies, the book, with its extensive suite of references, provides readers with an understanding of both the theoretical basis and the potential applications required to adopt and adapt new analytical and design methods. An invaluable source book for researchers and students in ecology and climate change science, the book also provides a useful reference for practitioners in a range of sectors, including human health, fisheries, forestry, agriculture and natural resource management.