Species diversity
hideSpecies diversity is an index that incorporates the number of species in an area and also their relative abundance. It is generally a much more useful value than species richness.
The most common index of species diversity is a family of equations called Simpson's Diversity Index[1].
Here is one such example
D = (n / N)2
Where n is the total number of organisms of a particular species and N is the total number of organisms of all species.D is the value of diversity. It can range between 0 and 1, whre 1 is the richest an Ecosystem can possibly be.
Humans have a huge effect on species diversity; the main reasons are: - Destruction, Modification, and/or Fragmentation of Habitat - Introduction of Exotic Species - Overharvest - Global Climate Change
For more information about Species diversity, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with species diversity
A global model for the origin of species independent of geographical isolation
Jul 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The tremendous diversity of life continues to puzzle scientists, long after the 200 years since Charles Darwin's birth. However, in recent years, consistent patterns of biodiversity have been identified ...
2010 species pledge set to fail: conservationists
Jul 02, 2009 |
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The world's paramount authority on species loss has warned that pledges to roll back the threat to biodiversity by 2010 were running into the sand.
Dinosaurs declined before mass extinction
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 30, 2009 |
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Dinosaurs were dying out much earlier than the mass extinction event 65 million years ago, Natural History Museum scientists report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society journal today.
Study first to show evolution's impact on ecosystems
Apr 01, 2009 |
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Scientists have come to agree that different environments impact the evolution of new species. Now experiments conducted at the University of British Columbia are showing for the first time that the reverse is also true.
Animal families with the most diversity also have widest range of size
Mar 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Somewhere out there in the ocean, SpongeBob SquarePants has a teeny-tiny cousin and a humongous uncle.
Aquaculture's growth seen as continuing
Biology /
Jan 02, 2009 |
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Aquaculture production of seafood will probably remain the most rapidly increasing food production system worldwide through 2025, according to an assessment published in the January 2009 issue of BioScience. The assessment, by Jam ...
