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Beta diversity

About: Beta diversity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3305 publications have been published within this topic receiving 148212 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1973-Ecology
TL;DR: Three commonly used measures of diversity, Simpson's index, Shannon's entropy, and the total number of species, are related to Renyi's definition of a generalized entropy, according to which there is a continuum of possible diversity measures.
Abstract: Three commonly used measures of diversity, Simpson's index, Shannon's entropy, and the total number of species, are related to Renyi's definition of a generalized entropy. A unified concept of diversity is presented, according to which there is a continuum of possible diversity measures. In a sense which becomes apparent, these measures provide estimates of the effective number of species present, and differ only in their tendency to include or to ignore the relatively rarer species. The notion of the diversity of a community as opposed to that of a sample is examined, and is related to the asymptotic form of the species—abundance curve. A new and plausible definition of evenness is derived.

4,957 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 May 1972-Taxon

4,445 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 1971-Ecology
TL;DR: It is suggested that species diversity has become a meaningless concept, that the term be abandoned, and that ecologists take a more critical approach to species-number relations and rely less on information theoretic and other analogies.
Abstract: The recent literature on species diversity contains many semantic, conceptual, and technical problems. It is suggested that, as a result of these problems, species diversity has become a meaningless concept, that the term be abandoned, and that ecologists take a more critical approach to species—number relations and rely less on information theoretic and other analogies. As multispecific collections of organisms possess numerous statistical properties which conform to the conventional criteria for diversity indices, such collections are not intrinsically arrangeable in linear order along some diversity scale. Several such properties or "species composition parameters" having straightforward biological interpretations are presented as alternatives to the diversity approach. The two most basic of these are simply ▵1=[n/n—1][1—Σi(N_i/_N)2] =the proportion of potential interindividual encounters which is interspecific (as opposed to intraspecific), assuming every individual in the collection can encounter all other individuals, E(Sn) = Σi [1—(N—Nin)/(Nn)] =the expected number of species in a sample of n individuals selected at random from a collection containing N individuals, S species, and Ni individuals in the ith species.

3,924 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a unified framework for the assessment of beta diversity, disentangling the contribution of spatial turnover and nestedness to beta-diversity patterns, is provided, which is crucial for our understanding of central biogeographic, ecological and conservation issues.
Abstract: Aim Beta diversity (variation of the species composition of assemblages) may reflect two different phenomena, spatial species turnover and nestedness of assemblages, which result from two antithetic processes, namely species replacement and species loss, respectively. The aim of this paper is to provide a unified framework for the assessment of beta diversity, disentangling the contribution of spatial turnover and nestedness to beta-diversity patterns. Innovation I derive an additive partitioning of beta diversity that provides the two separate components of spatial turnover and nestedness underlying the total amount of beta diversity. I propose two families of measures of beta diversity for pairwise and multiple-site situations. Each family comprises one measure accounting for all aspects of beta diversity, which is additively decomposed into two measures accounting for the pure spatial turnover and nestedness components, respectively. Finally, I provide a case study using European longhorn beetles to exemplify the relevance of disentangling spatial turnover and nestedness patterns. Main conclusion Assigning the different beta-diversity patterns to their respective biological phenomena is essential for analysing the causality of the processes underlying biodiversity. Thus, the differentiation of the spatial turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity is crucial for our understanding of central biogeographic, ecological and conservation issues.

2,364 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A roadmap of the most widely used and ecologically relevant approaches for analysis through a series of mission statements is provided, distinguishing two types of β diversity: directional turnover along a gradient vs. non-directional variation.
Abstract: A recent increase in studies of β diversity has yielded a confusing array of concepts, measures and methods. Here, we provide a roadmap of the most widely used and ecologically relevant approaches for analysis through a series of mission statements. We distinguish two types of β diversity: directional turnover along a gradient vs. non-directional variation. Different measures emphasize different properties of ecological data. Such properties include the degree of emphasis on presence/absence vs. relative abundance information and the inclusion vs. exclusion of joint absences. Judicious use of multiple measures in concert can uncover the underlying nature of patterns in β diversity for a given dataset. A case study of Indonesian coral assemblages shows the utility of a multi-faceted approach. We advocate careful consideration of relevant questions, matched by appropriate analyses. The rigorous application of null models will also help to reveal potential processes driving observed patterns in β diversity.

1,995 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023197
2022340
2021373
2020326
2019267
2018250