Interpretation of ecological data by path analysis

[First paragraph...]
In ecological research one is often faced with analyzing quantitative data. A dilemma that frequently arises is that, in applying many of the existing methods of statistical analysis, we have to assume that certain variables are statistically independent even though we know from biological or physical considerations that they must interact. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint readers with the relatively new technique of path analysis which seems to have great potential. This is easiest done' by relating path analysis to multiple regression analysis.