Analyzing the Relationship between Clutch Size and Female Body Size in Reptiles

Ecological studies of reptiles often include linear regression analyses of the relationship between number of eggs or offspring (clutch size) and female body size. Recent issues of Copeia (vol. 1997-1998), Herpetologica (vol. 53-54) and Journal of Herpetology (vol. 3132) include 19 publications in which the relationship between clutch size and female size in reptiles is reported. Length was used as a measure of female size in 16 analyses and mass was used as a measure of female size in three analyses. In only two cases did authors log transform clutch size and female size prior to analysis. Here, I suggest that analysis of log transformed variables is preferred for meeting the assumptions of linear regression and for facilitating biological interpretation and comparisons among studies. Log transformation of variables such as clutch size and