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The ordination plots clearly show that for each month during which patch and non-
patch plots were sampled, distinctly different faunal communities were present in the
P. elegans patches compared with non-patches and straight lines easily separate the
two plot types on the MDS plots. Since the sampling was stratified into P. elegans
patches and non-patch plots, replicate variability, i.e., spatial variation of the
community, was greater in the latter, except perhaps during August 1997. Differences
in the faunal communities between patches and non-patches were statistically
analysed by the One-way ANOSIM tests. Table 8.3 gives the results of these tests for
each of the 4 months. The test statistic R reflects the observed differences between
sites contrasted with differences among replicates within sites. R assumes a value of 1
if all replicates within sites are more similar to each other than any replicates from
different sites and a value of 0 for the contrary situation (Clarke, 1993). In each of the
ANOSIM tests carried out, only one permuted statistic out of 462 permutations was
greater than the sample statistic R, giving significant levels of R equal to 0.2% in each
case, and therefore H o was rejected at a significance level of p