ArticleEvolution letters2020
On the use of the coefficient of variation to quantify and compare trait variation.
Article in Evolution letters, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Accurate and spatially stable quantification of hepatic steatosis using ultrasound-derived fat fraction in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD): a prospective magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) study.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
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- Comparison of Quantitative Evaluation and Conventional Scar Scale Analysis for Pediatric Pathological Scars.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Variations in Seed and Fruit Traits of the Rare and Endangered Chinese PlantEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- New Method for Quantification of Phenotypic Plasticity Reveals How Plasticity Changes Over Time in the DiatomEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Phenotypic variation and genetic diversity assessment of proso millet (Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Integrating combining ability and multivariate analysis for the selection of superior tomato hybrids.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Evolving a Field: Can Evolutionary Theory Provide What the Study of Human Evolution Requires?American journal of biological anthropology · 2025Review
- Geography, Environmental Conditions and Life History Shape Patterns of Within-Population Phenotypic Variation in North American Birds.Ecology letters · 2025Review
- Morphometric Traits as Predictors of Body Mass in the Marine GastropodAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Intraspecific Variation and Environmental Determinants of Leaf Functional Traits inPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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- Urbanization Alters Phenology, Mating System Allocation, and Life History ofEcology and evolution · 2025Article
- Quantifying Genetic Parameters for Blackleg Resistance in Rapeseed: A Comparative Study.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Fundamental equations linking methylation dynamics to maximum lifespan in mammals.Nature communications · 2024Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Meaningful comparison of variation in quantitative trait requires controlling for both the dimension of the varying entity and the dimension of the factor generating variation. Although the coefficient of variation (CV; standard deviation divided by the mean) is often used to measure and compare variation of quantitative traits, it only accounts for the dimension of the former, and its use for comparing variation may sometimes be inappropriate. Here, we discuss the use of the CV to compare measures of evolvability and phenotypic plasticity, two variational properties of quantitative traits. Using a dimensional analysis, we show that contrary to evolvability, phenotypic plasticity cannot be meaningfully compared across traits and environments by mean-scaling trait variation. We further emphasize the need of remaining cognizant of the dimensions of the traits and the relationship between mean and standard deviation when comparing CVs, even when the scales on which traits are expressed allow meaningful calculation of the CV.
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