# Specificity

All measures of specificity are setup so that maximal specificity is 1, and maximal generality is 0. By default, specificity of quantitative networks is measured using the PDI index, and the specificity of deterministic networks is measured using the RR index. These two are mathematically equivalent when applied to a deterministic network.

# EcologicalNetwork.specificityFunction.

Resource range

specificity(N::DeterministicNetwork)


Measure of specificity in a deterministic network. This returns a value between 0 and 1, where 1 indicates maximal specificity.

julia> N = BipartiteNetwork(eye(Bool, 10));

julia> specificity(N)[1]
1.0


Poisot, T., Canard, E., Mouquet, N., Hochberg, M.E., 2012. A comparative study of ecological specialization estimators. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 3, 537–544. doi:10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00174.x

Paired Differences Index

specificity(N::QuantitativeNetwork)


Measure of specificity in a quantitative network. This returns a value between 0 and 1, where 1 indicates maximal specificity. Note that the PDI is measured species-wise, and the maximal interaction strength of every species is set to 1.

julia> N = BipartiteNetwork(eye(Int64, 10));

julia> specificity(N)[1]
1.0


Poisot, T., Canard, E., Mouquet, N., Hochberg, M.E., 2012. A comparative study of ecological specialization estimators. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 3, 537–544. doi:10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00174.x