I have conducted an NMDS analysis using a Gower distance matrix to examine the dissimilarity or similarity of honeybee abundance across various regions globally in relation to different environmental conditions. My dataset includes both continuous and categorical environmental variables.
The NMDS analysis yielded a range of stress values, with the minimum stress value being 0.23 and the maximum stress value reaching 0.25. Stress values measure the goodness of fit of the NMDS solution, with lower values indicating a better fit. In my case, stress values in the range of 0.23 to 0.25 were obtained.
I would like to seek the opinions of fellow researchers regarding the interpretation of these stress values. Are stress values in this range considered acceptable for an NMDS analysis, or should further transformations or adjustments be considered to improve the analysis?
I aim to ensure that my NMDS plot provides a reliable and meaningful visual representation of the relationship between honeybee abundance and environmental conditions. Your insights and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.