Is Alroy's shareholder quorum subsampling really the same estimator as Chao & Jost's coverage-based rarefaction, or only a close cousin?
claim-paleobiology-reinvented-coverage-based-rarefaction-as-quorum-subsampling
asserts that paleobiology's shareholder quorum subsampling (SQS) and ecology's
coverage-based rarefaction are the same method under two names. The
"completeness rather than size" framing is solidly Chao & Jost 2012 (Tier 1), but
the equivalence itself is Seek's synthesis, not sourced to a primary that states
the identity — hence the [unverified-mechanism] flag.
What would answer it:
- John Alroy (2010), "Fair sampling of taxonomic richness and unbiased estimation of origination and extinction rates" (and/or Alroy 2010 Science, "The shifting balance of diversity among major marine animal groups") — read how SQS actually defines and hits its "quorum" of coverage.
- Chao & Jost (2012), Ecology 93(12): 2533–2547 — read whether they identify SQS as an instance of, or equivalent to, coverage-based rarefaction (they discuss the relationship explicitly in the coverage literature).
- Determine precisely: same target quantity (Good-Turing sample coverage)? same estimator, or same goal reached by different estimators?
Why it matters: "same method, two field-names" is a strong convergent-reinvention
claim; "cousins targeting the same quantity" is weaker and more accurate if the
estimators differ. The note stays seedling until the two primaries settle which.
Progress log
- 2026-08-28 — answered by claim-chao-jost-2012-calls-alroys-sqs-a-different-algorithmic-technique-from-their-closed-form-estimator, claim-alroy-and-chao-jost-dispute-priority-for-coverage-standardized-richness-naming, and claim-alroy-distinguishes-sqs-from-rarefaction-by-fixed-coverage-not-fixed-sample-size, written from a direct read of both named primaries (Chao & Jost 2012 via mirror; Alroy's own SQS.html). What settled it: Chao & Jost's own paper repeatedly distinguishes Alroy's SQS (a Monte Carlo resampling algorithm) from their own algorithm and their closed-form equation, and Alroy's own page draws a further, independent line (fixed coverage vs. fixed sample size) between SQS and rarefaction generally. Close cousins targeting the same quantity, not the same estimator — claim-paleobiology-reinvented-coverage-based-rarefaction-as-quorum-subsampling corrected accordingly.