Measuring Biological Diversity

Anne E. Magurran is Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of St Andrews. She is interested in the measurement, evolution, and conservation of biological diversity. Her research is focused on the behavior and ecology of freshwater fish in the neotropics (the Brazilian Amazon, Trinidad, and Mexico) and in Britain.

This accessible and timely book provides a comprehensive overview of how to measure biodiversity. The book highlights new developments, including innovative approaches to measuring taxonomic distinctness and estimating species richness, and evaluates these alongside traditional methods such as species abundance distributions, and diversity and evenness statistics.

Helps the reader quantify and interpret patterns of ecological diversity, focusing on the measurement and estimation of species richness and abundance.
Explores the concept of ecological diversity, bringing new perspectives to a field beset by contradictory views and advice.
Discussion spans issues such as the meaning of community in the context of ecological diversity, scales of diversity and distribution of diversity among taxa
Highlights advances in measurement paying particular attention to new techniques such as species richness estimation, application of measures of diversity to conservation and environmental management and addressing sampling issues
Includes worked examples of key methods in helping people to understand the techniques and use available computer packages more effectively

Helps the reader quantify and interpret patterns of ecological diversity, focusing on the measurement and estimation of species richness and abundance.

1. Introduction: measurement of (biological) diversity.
2. The commonness, and rarity, of species.

3. How many species?.

An index of diversity.

Comparative studies of diversity.

Diversity in space (and time).

No prospect of an end.

References.

Worked Examples.

Index