Connexions module: m12147 1

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Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Diversity

Ian Harrison
Melina Laverty
Eleanor Sterling
This work is produced by The Connexions Project and licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License †

Whittaker (1972)[3] described three terms for measuring biodiversity over spatial scales: alpha, beta,
and gamma diversity. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity within a particular area or ecosystem, and is
usually expressed by the number of species (i.e., species richness) in that ecosystem. For example, if we are
monitoring the eect that British farming practices have on the diversity of native birds in a particular region
of the country, then we might want to compare species diversity within dierent ecosystems, such as an
undisturbed deciduous wood, a well-established hedgerow bordering a small pasture, and a large arable eld.
We can walk a transect in each of these three ecosystems and count the number of species we see; this gives
us the alpha diversity for each ecosystem; see Table 1: Alpha, beta and gamma diversity for hypothetical
species of birds in three dierent ecosystems (this example is based on the hypothetical example given by
Mee et al., 2002; Table 6.1 [1]).
If we examine the change in species diversity between these ecosystems then we are measuring the
beta diversity. We are counting the total number of species that are unique to each of the ecosystems
being compared. For example, the beta diversity between the woodland and the hedgerow habitats is 7
(representing the 5 species found in the woodland but not the hedgerow, plus the 2 species found in the
hedgerow but not the woodland). Thus, beta diversity allows us to compare diversity between ecosystems.
Gamma diversity is a measure of the overall diversity for the dierent ecosystems within a region.
Hunter (2002: 448)1 denes gamma diversity as "geographic-scale species diversity". In the example in
Table 1: Alpha, beta and gamma diversity for hypothetical species of birds in three dierent ecosystems, the
total number of species for the three ecosystems 14, which represent the gamma diversity.

Alpha, beta and gamma diversity for hypothetical species of birds in three dierent
ecosystems
Hypothetical species Woodland habitat Hedgerow habitat Open eld habitat
A X
B X
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∗ Version 1.2: Jul 29, 2004 9:31 pm GMT-5

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1 "Population Diversity", reference [1] <http://cnx.org/content/m12171/latest/#hunterb>

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Connexions module: m12147 2

C X
D X
E X
F X X
G X X
H X X
I X X
J X X
K X
L X X
M X
N X
Alpha diversity 10 7 3
Beta diversity Woodland vs. Hedgerow vs. open Woodland vs. open
hedgerow: 7 eld: 8 eld: 13
Gamma diversity 14
Table 1

Glossary
Denition 1: Ecosystem
a community plus the physical environment that it occupies at a given time
Denition 2: Alpha diversity
the diversity within a particular area or ecosystem; usually expressed by the number of species
(i.e., species richness) in that ecosystem
Denition 3: Beta diversity
a comparison of of diversity between ecosystems, usually measured as the amount of species change
between the ecosystems
Denition 4: Gamma diversity
a measure of the overall diversity within a large region. Geographic-scale species diversity according
to Hunter (2002: 448)2

References
[1] L.A. Nielsen R.L. Knight Mee, G.K. and D.A. Schenborn. Ecosystem management: adaptive,
community-based conservation. Island Press, Washington, D.C., U.S.A, 2002.

[2] T.R. Roberts. Geographical distribution of african freshwater shes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean
Society, 57:249319, 1975.

[3] R.H. Whittaker. Evolution and measurement of species diversity. Taxon , 21:213251, 1972.

2 "Population Diversity", reference [1] <http://cnx.org/content/m12171/latest/#hunterb>

http://cnx.org/content/m12147/1.2/