Biometrics

Biometrics is the statistical analysis of biological data, especially variation among organisms. It combines statistical methods with biological questions about measurement, variation, and inference.

Biostatistics: The application of statistical methods to questions in biology, medicine, and public health. Biometrics is a historically rooted branch of statistical work on biological questions.
Analysis of variance: A statistical method that partitions variation to compare means across groups or explain outcomes. It separates group differences from within-group biological variation.
Francis Galton: An English polymath who developed statistical methods for studying heredity and human variation. Galton introduced influential tools for measuring correlations among biological traits.
Quantitative genetics: The study of the genetic and environmental contributions to continuously varying traits. It applies biometric methods to inherited differences in traits such as height or yield.
Mendelian genetics: The study of inheritance patterns explained by discrete genetic factors transmitted across generations. Its early proponents challenged biometric accounts based on continuous variation.
Statistical inference: The process of drawing conclusions about populations from sample data using probability models. Biometric studies use samples to infer patterns in biological populations.
Linear mixed model: A regression model containing both fixed effects and random effects. Random effects represent clustering and individual differences common in biological data.
Karl Pearson: A British mathematician who developed foundational statistical methods, including the correlation coefficient and chi-squared test. Pearson established mathematical techniques used in early biometric research.
Plant breeding: The development of plant varieties with desired traits through selection and genetic methods. Breeders use statistical trials to compare varieties across traits and environments.
Evolutionary synthesis: The twentieth-century framework uniting Darwinian evolution with Mendelian genetics and population genetics. It reconciled biometric analysis of continuous traits with gene-based models of inheritance.

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