[R-sig-eco] transformation of a ratio before analysis

[Adam Martiny]

Dear Members,
I'm interested in understanding the deviations in the ratio of two nutrients in different samples along gradients of temperature and other environmental conditions. The two nutrients are broadly correlated with a correlation coef. r = 0.9. I have a hard time with this analysis and I suspect this in part has to do with this strong correlation as well as the poor statistical properties of a ratio. Thus, I am considering to do a transformation of the ratio before my analysis. I should mention that the denominator is far from zero.
So my questions are
1: Am I on a good path or does anyone have some recommendations about how to analyze ratio data? E.g., should I somehow look at the concentration of the two nutrients and not the ratio?
2: What transformation would you recommend? I have tried log but also considering arcsin but any suggestions are most welcome.

Any input on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Adam