The large data set was then analyzed using both Microsoft Excel
2011 and MATLAB 10. MATLAB was used to obtain specific numerical information (e.g. number of native species offered in each study
period, etc.). Using a statistical count model we were able to predict
the number of species (or genera) offered in each time period; we
suspect that the difference in number of catalogs sampled would
have little to no effect on the actual number of species offered, thus
the overall result would still not change. The entries were optimized manually to account for spelling errors, alternative names,
and repeats. In order to compare the time periods and the different
numbers of catalogs sampled in each time period, we employed a
negative binomial regression count model. This allowed for comparison between time periods by predicting the number of species
(or genera) offered in each time period.