Activity Worksheet 6.

2_2

Name: Radheyraman Rohilla

Roll Number: 294

Department: B.COM (H)

Estimation of Biodiversity

We keep listening about communities, their composition and their functions about us.
However, have we ever wondered what it looks like in other species? How does it function
there? Is it similar, or different from ours? Can we measure and analyse the quality and
quantity of the diversity in the communities of other species?
These questions have nudged the minds of people from different disciplines such as
environmental sciences, ecology, statistics, mathematics, computer sciences and data
analysis. Now, we have many methods by which data on communities of different species
can be collected and analyzed for their composition, distribution and diversity. In this activity,
we will apply our information and knowledge on species diversity in measuring the
biodiversity of a given habitat, community, population, or ecosystem. We already know that
species diversity depends on (a) species richness, and (b) species abundance. Species
richness is the number of species, and species abundance is the number of individuals of
that species in the given habitat, community, population, or ecosystem. We can also find the
distribution of the species such as whether it is evenly distributed, clumped, or randomly
distributed, and its dominance from species evenness and relative abundance, respectively.

In addition to calculating the species richness and species abundance, statistical analysis
has been very helpful in measuring the diversity from complex and large data sets. Two of
those simplest statistical ways of measuring the diversities is by using the Simpson and
Shannon Index.
The Simpson’s and Shannon’s Index are based on species richness and species relative
abundance. They are calculated as a summation of the squares of relative abundances of all
the species in a plot, and the summation of the product of the relative abundances, and its
natural logarithm, respectively.

Calculations:

Frequency, s = Number of quadrants in which the species is present.

Relative frequency = Number of quadrants in which the species is present/total number of

quadrants.

Abundance, n = Total number of individuals of that species in all the quadrants.

Relative abundance, n/N, Pi = Total number of individuals of that species in all the
quadrants/Total number of individuals of all the species in all the quadrants.
Simpson Index, D = 1 -∑ Pi^2
Shannon Index, H = - ∑Pi ln Pi
 In this activity, we will study the plots given in Figure 6.2.1, representing an
ecosystem.

Plot A Plot B Plot C Plot D

Enter the data using the table given below.

Table 6.2.1
S. Nam P L O T Numb Freque Rela Ab Relative Pi^2 ln Pi Pi ln Pi
No e of er of ncy, s tive un abundance,
spec individ freq da n/N. Pi = n/N
ies uals, uen nc
n cy e

A B C D

1 1 3 5 2 11 4 1 11 11/40=0.275 0.0075625 -1.29 -0.35475

2 9 1 0 2 12 3 0.75 12 12/40=0.3 0.09 -1.20 -0.36

3 0 4 5 2 11 3 0.75 11 11/40=0.275 0.0075625 -1.29 -0.35475

4 0 1 0 2 3 2 0.50 3 3/40=0.075 0.005625 -2.59 -0.19425

5 0 1 0 2 3 2 0.50 3 3/40=0.075 0.005625 -2.59 -0.19425

Total Total relative ∑Pi^2 = ∑Pi ln Pi

numb abundance, 0.116375 = -1.458
er of ∑Pi = 1
individ
uals,
N
= 40
Calculate the Simpson index and Shannon Index for an ecosystem from these plots.

Space for the calculations:

SIMPSON’S INDEX OF DIVERSITY=1-D

D = Σni(ni-1) / N(N-1)

where:

● ni: The number of organisms that belong to species i

● N: The total number of organisms

Step 1: Collect the Data: Given

Step 2: Calculate N:

Total no of organisms =11+12+11+3+3

= 40

Step 3: Calculate ni(ni-1):

NAME OF SPECIES ni ni (ni-1)

1 11 110
2 12 132
3 11 110
4 3 6
5 3 6
40 364
N ∑ ni (ni-1)

D= Σni(ni-1) / N(N-1)

364/40(40-39)= 364/1560= 0.233

1-D= 1-0.233= 0.77

Shannon Diversity Index

H = -Σpi * ln(pi)

where:

● ln: Natural log

 ● pi: The proportion of the entire community made up of species i

Steps to calculate Shannon Diversity Index:

Step 1: Collect the Data

Step 2: Calculate the Proportions

As calculated above

Step 3: Calculate the Natural Log of the Proportions:

Species number pi In(pi)

1 11 0.275 -1.29
2 12 0.3 -1.20
3 11 0.275 -1.29
4 3 0.075 -2.59
5 3 0/075 -2.59

Step 4: Multiply the Proportions by the Natural Log of the Proportions

Species number pi In(pi) Pi*In(pi)

1 11 0.275 -1.29 -0.35475
2 12 0.3 -1.20 -0.36
3 11 0.275 -1.29 -0.35475
4 3 0.075 -2.59 -0.19425
5 3 0/075 -2.59 -0.19425
H 1.46=∑pi*In(pi)

Step 5: Calculate the Shannon Diversity Index

Lastly, she can use the following formula to calculate the Shannon Diversity Index:

H = -Σpi * ln(pi)

1.46
 Result and Discussion:

D of your plot = 0.77

H of your plot =1.46

a. From the calculated values of relative frequencies of all the species in a given plot,
comment on their distribution of the species such as even, random, clustered etc.

SPECIES Relative PLOT A PLOT B PLOT C PLOT D

frequency
1 1 EVEN RANDOM CLUSTERED EVEN
2 0.75 CLUSTERED EVEN EVEN
3 0.75 - CLUSTERED CLUSTERED RANDOM
4 0.50 - EVEN EVEN
5 0.50 - RANDOM CLUSTERED

b. From the calculated values of relative abundances of all the species in a given plot,
comment on which species are the dominant ones and the regressive ones.
SPECIES RELATIVE PLOT A PLOT B PLOT C PLOT D
ABUNDANCE
1 11/40=0.275 REGRESSIVE DOMINANT DOMINANT EVENLY
2 12/40=0.3 DOMINANT REGRESSIVE EVENLY
3 11/40=0.275 - DOMINANT DOMINANT EVENLY
4 3/40=0.075 - REGRESSIVE EVENLY
5 3/40=0.075 - REGRESSIVE EVENLY

c. From the data of an ecosystem given in the table below, compare and comment on
the biodiversity concerning your plot.

Name D H

Ecosystem A 0.65 3.1

Ecosystem B 0.77 1.46

What is Simpson’s Diversity Index?

Simpson’s diversity index (SDI) measures community diversity. Although it’s commonly used to
measure biodiversity, it can also be used to gauge diversity differences of populations in schools,
communities and other locations.
The range is from 0 to 1, where:

High scores (close to 1) indicate high diversity.

Low scores (close to 0) indicate low diversity.

One of more the useful aspects of the index is to compare two sets of data to see which is more
diverse. For example, if one has an SDI of 0.5 and another has an SDI of 0.35, then the set with the
SDI of 0.5 is more diverse.

So here also we can see that ECOSYSTEM B is more diverse with SD of 0.77

Shannon Wiener's Diversity Index, also known as the Shannon Diversity Index or simply Shannon's
Index, is a measure of biodiversity or species diversity that takes into account both the number of
species present in a community and their relative abundance. It was first introduced by Claude
Shannon and Warren Weaver in 1949 in the field of information theory, but it has since been widely
used in ecology to measure and compare the diversity of different ecosystems or communities.

The Shannon Diversity Index is calculated by the following formula:

H' = -Σ(pi) * log2(pi)

where H' is the Shannon Diversity Index, pi is the proportion of individuals belonging to the i-th
species, and log2 is the logarithm to the base 2.

The value of the Shannon Diversity Index ranges from 0 to ln(S), where S is the total number of
species in the community. A value of 0 indicates that the community has no diversity and is composed
of a single species, while a value of ln(S) indicates that the community has maximum diversity, with
all species being equally abundant.

The interpretation of the Shannon Diversity Index values depends on the context and the specific
community being studied. Generally, higher values of the index indicate greater diversity and
complexity in the community, which can be indicative of a healthier or more stable ecosystem.

So here we can see that ECOSYSTEM A has higher value of 3.1 which represents more richness and
vastness in ECOSYSTEM A THAN ECOSYSTEM B