There is a serious paper by Hurlbert (1990), Spatial distribution of the montane unicorn, that is hilarious. Somehow, he was able to get the editors at Oikos to allow him to add tiny unicorns to his graphics (really - check out http://pascencio.cos.ucf.edu/classes/Methods/Hurbelrt%20unicorn.pdf ).
His point was that people badly misinterpret variance/mean ratios as having anything useful to say about spatial distribution. He created some counterexamples to demonstrate his point, whilst poking holes in articles by rather august personages that were guilty of the sin against which he was inveighing. The whole thing is simultaneously tongue-in-cheek (a gentle double-breasted distribution is shown by the unicorns that clamber about the Grand Tetons) and quite serious. Hurlbert, S.H. 1990. Spatial distribution of the montane unicorn. Oikos 58: 257-271. Enjoy. Vicky Meretsky Professor School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana
