ArticlePloS one2025
Newcomb-Benford number law and ecological processes.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- First-Digit Distributions of Human Long-Bone Morphometric Parameters: An Exploratory X-Ray-Based Comparison with Benford's Law.International journal of general medicine · 2026Article
- Newcomb-Benford number law and ecological processes.PloS one · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The Newcomb-Benford number law has found applications in the natural and social sciences for decades, with limited ecological attention. The aim of this communication is to highlight a statistical correspondence between the first significant digit frequencies of the Benford probability distribution and ecological systems in a balanced state of dynamic equilibrium. Analytical methods, including multidimensional Euclidean distance, Cohen-W effect size, Kossovsky sum of squared deviations (SSD), and Pearson residuals are presented to facilitate the identification of this canonical representation across multiple levels of ecological organization and scale. Case studies reveal novel applications of the Benford distribution for detecting impending state transitions in marginally stable systems, as well as temporal and spatial divergence of ecological information through the measurement of Kullback-Leibler relative entropy. Widespread documentation of the leading digit phenomenon is expected as ecologists revisit empirical datasets and formalize sampling protocols for its detection. The conversion of randomly collected sets of arithmetic data into logarithmic probabilities of first significant digits presents unique opportunities to advance our understanding of ecological processes related with stability, complexity, and maturity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.