The Manly-Chesson's Index (or Manly's alpha, or Chesson's index) refers to a lookup table of feeding selectivity described by Jean Chesson in the early 1980s.Chesson, J. 1983. The estimation and analysis of preference and its relationship to foraging models. Ecology 64: 1297-1304. and, according to a 2006 book, is based on ecologist Dr. Bryan F. J. Manly 's "alpha section index which allows to rank plants in order according to frequency in the diet. The Estimation and Analysis of Preference and Its Relationship to Foraging Models. Ecology. 64 (5): 1297-1304. This index is intended to show whether a preference for a food item or resource exists by comparing the availability and use of that food item.    The use of this index has been widespread with more than 400 citations in the scientific literature.ISI Web of Science Search 5 Feb 2009
The Manly-Chesson's Index (or Manly's alpha, or Chesson's index) refers to an index to determine selective feeding on discrete food items. It was described separately by Bryan F. J. Manly and Jean Chesson in the 1970's . It was initially described for two different food types, but was later extended to include more food types . The index for two food types is calculated as: . Where and are the number of individuals of present at the start for each species and and are the number of items consumed of each type respectively. is the estimate of preference. The use of this index has been widespread with more than 400 citations in the scientific literature.ISI Web of Science Search 5 Feb 2009
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a lookup table of feeding selectivity described by Jean Chesson in the early 1980s.Chesson, J. 1983. The estimation and analysis of preference and its relationship to foraging models. Ecology 64: 1297-1304. and, according to a 2006 book, is based on ecologist Dr.
an index to determine selective feeding on discrete food items. It was described separately by
R
's "alpha section index which allows to rank plants in order according to frequency in the diet. The Estimation and Analysis of Preference and Its Relationship to Foraging Models. Ecology. 64 (5): 1297-1304. This index is intended to show whether a preference for a food item or resource exists by comparing the availability and use of that food item.
and Jean Chesson in the 1970's . It was initially described for two different food types, but was later extended to include more food types .
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The index for two food types is calculated as:
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.
A
Where and are the number of individuals of present at the start for each species and and are the number of items consumed of each type respectively. is the estimate of preference.