Supplement 1. Data used in the four applications of principal coordinates of neighbor matrices (PCNM) analysis: abundance of ferns, transect coordinates, and environmental variables (Peru); biomass of zooplankton, transect coordinates, and environmental variables (Guadeloupe); chlorophyll a and spatial coordinates (Thau, France); and oribatid mite species counts, spatial coordinates, and environmental variables (St-Hippolyte, Québec).

File List
Amazonian fern example:

Nauta.txt Response, spatial, and environmental variables
for the Nauta transect

Huanta.txt Response, spatial, and environmental variables
for the Huanta transect

Guadeloupe zooplankton example:

Guadeloupe.txt Response, spatial, and environmental variables

Chlorophyll a example:

Thau_data.txt Response and spatial variables

Oribatid mites example:

Oribatida_species.txt
Response variables

Oribatida_XY_envir.txt Spatial
and environmental variables

Description
Data used in the four examples.
Quantitative values for the dependent and spatial variables. Environmental
variables may be quantitative or binary.

Amazonian fern example:

Description of the variables for
both transects:

Response variable: raw counts of the fern Adiantum tomentosum in 5 × 5
m quadrats.

Spatial variable: coordinate (m) of the center of the plot along the transect.

Environmental variables: elevation (m), number of stems of trees of five classes
of diameters at breast height (cm), number of stems of lianas of three classes
of stem diameter (cm), thickness of the layer of soil organic matter, drainage
in five classes (0 = good, 5 = none), canopy height (m),
canopy, shrub and herbaceous coverage (cm)

Guadeloupe zooplankton example:

Response variable: log-transformed
zooplankton biomasses of two size classes (original units: mg/m3
ash-free dry mass).

Spatial variable: coordinate (km) of the sampling site along the transect.

Environmental variables: dissolved oxygen (mg/L), salinity (psu), wind speed
(m/s), phytoplankton biomass (log-transformed, original units: µg/L),
turbidity (NTU), swell height (m) and 14 binary variables coding for habitat
classes.

Chlorophyll a example:

Response variable: chlorophyll
a biomass (µg/L).

Spatial variable: X and Y coordinates (km) of the site.

Oribatid mites example:

Response variable: raw counts
of 35 species of oribatid mites on a Sphagnum mat .

Spatial variable: X and Y coordinates (m) of the sampling cores.

Environmental variables: bulk density of the substratum (g/L of dry uncompressed
matter), water content (g/L of raw uncompresed material) and 12 binary variables
coding for classes of substratum: 4 species of Sphagnum moss, ligneous
litter, bare peat, interface between two substrates, 3 categories of shrubs,
microtopography (blanket or hummock).