[R-sig-ME] convert stddev of fixed to random

[Mollie Brooks]

Hi,
I have 4 plots in my dataset, too few to fit them as a random effect. So I'm fitting a different fixed effect intercept for each plot.

I also have individuals within plots and everything measured repeatedly for 10 years. 
My formula in glmer looks like this:
response~-1 + plot + size + (1 | individual) + (1 | year) 

I'm interested in parsing out the variability. I realize that the intercepts for year and individual have shrinkage because they're fit as random effects, while the intercepts of plot do not have shrinkage. Other than that, can I compare the standard deviation among plot intercepts to the standard deviation of the random effects? Or do I need to subtract out some variation expected from the individuals within plots?

thanks,
Mollie

Mollie Brooks
Ph.D. Candidate
NSF IGERT Fellow
Biology Department
University of Florida
mbrooks at ufl.edu
http://people.biology.ufl.edu/mbrooks