species diversity
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Species Diversity. What do we mean by diversity? Species Richness Count Species/area Species/number 2. Heterogeneity = Richness + evenness 3. Scales of diversity Alpha Beta Gamma. Measures of diversity sensitive to both richness and evenness Simpson’s Index - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Species Diversity
What do we mean by diversity?
1. Species RichnessCountSpecies/areaSpecies/number
2. Heterogeneity = Richness + evenness3. Scales of diversity
AlphaBetaGamma
Measures of diversity sensitive to both richness and
evenness
Simpson’s Index D = 1/Σ pi
2
Shannon IndexH’ = - Σ( pi log pi) or exp(H’)
What do we mean by diversity?
1. Species RichnessCountSpecies/areaSpecies/number
2. Heterogeneity = Richness + evenness3. Scales of diversity
AlphaBetaGamma
β=γ/αγ = α + β
Additive Partitioning of Diversity:
(Wagner et al. 2003)
α1
α2
α3
α4
β 3
β 2
β 1
γ
Global Patterns of diversity
1. Islands2. Climate 3. Latitude
Dependence of these patterns on grain size?
Number of species of reptiles on Caribbean islands
Species – Area RelationshipS = c A z z ~ 0.3
•Galapagos – Land Plants.325•West Indies – Reptiles. & Amph..301•Bahamas – Orchids .31•West Indies – Carabids .34•East Indies – Ants .30•East Indies – Birds .28
MacArthur and Wilson 1967
Assumptions:
1. The immigration rate decreases as the number of species on the island increases. This is expected because competition increases and the number of available niches decreases.
2. The extinction rate increases with increasing species number. This is expected because more species implies greater competition.
Equilibrium theory
Assumptions:
1. The immigration rate decreases as the number of species on the island increases. This is expected because competition increases and the number of available niches decreases.
2. The extinction rate increases with increasing species number. This is expected because more species implies greater competition.
3. For a given number of species, immigration decreases with increasing distance from the mainland. That is, the farther the island is from the mainland, the less frequent Long-distance dispersal events will be.
Assumptions:
1. The immigration rate decreases as the number of species on the island increases. This is expected because competition increases and the number of available niches decreases.
2. The extinction rate increases with increasing species number. This is expected because more species implies greater competition.
3. For a given number of species, immigration decreases with increasing distance from the mainland. That is, the farther the island is from the mainland, the less frequent Long-distance dispersal events will be.
4. For a given number of species, the extinction rate increases with decreasing island size. That is, populations on smaller islands have a greater risk of extinction because their population sizes are lower.
Equilibrium theory has led to a large body of theory and observation to which we will return in the next lecture .
Climate as a determinant of diversity
Latitudinal gradient
Breeding bird diversityGreenland 56 (840,000 mi2)New York 105N Am. North of Mexico 650Guatemala 469 (42,000 mi2)Columbia 1395+ (440,000 =1/16 N. Am area)
Ant species Arctic Alaska 3 (66-72) Alaska 7 (55-72) Iowa 73 (41-43) Cuba 101 (20-
23 N) Trinidad >134 San Paulo, Brazil >222 (20-25 S) Tucuman, Argentina 139 (26-
28) Buenos Aires, Argentina 103 (33-39) Humid western Patagonia 19 (40-52) Tierra del Fuego 2 (43-55)
Latitude and grain size
Snakes per political unit (large grain)Canada 22US 126Mexico 293
Trees per 1000 m2 (small grain)Canadian boreal forest ~2N. US Deciduous forest ~8North Carolina Piedmont ~15
(to 30)Panama & Columbia ~100 Pluvial Columbia >260
Willig et al. 2003. Annual Reviews E&S
Willig et al. 2003. Annual Reviews E&S
Exceptions?• Often narrow specialist taxonomic groups
– Ichneumonid wasps– Saxifrages
• Buffered environments– endo and ecotoparasites of vertebrates– aquatic plants– secondary marine vertebrates
Willig et al. 2003. Annual Reviews E&S
Willig et al. 2003. Annual Reviews E&S
Global Mechanisms1. Area, Heterogeneity & Geometry2. Time (Age, Time , History, Stability?)3. Climate/Environment
- Favorableness of climate or environment- Constancy, stability or predictability of
climate or environment - Energy-diversity or Species-energy Theory - Productivity
4. Biotic interactions or Coevolution- Competition - Predation
Area & Heterogeneity • More connected (contiguous) area permits
greater population size, lower extinction.• Premise: More contiguous area of uniform
environment in tropics then in temperate to arctic latitudes; tropical area in one block
• Question: Corrected for area, does diversity reach similar levels across latitudes?
Mid-domain effect• Random placement of species ranges within
a bounded domain• Null models all produce latitudinal gradients,
but with different specific attributes.– Unconstrained– Constrained by range midpoints– Constrained by the distribution of range
sizes• Species wholly contained in any geographic
domain should exhibit a mid-domain peak.
Colwell & Hurtt 1994
Time (Age, Time , History,
stability?)• Evolutionary time:
– More time for evolution to produce species;
– fewer extinctions in stable environments.• Ecological time:
– More time for species to colonize appropriate habitat.
• Premise: the tropics have sustained less drastic change in environmental conditions over time
• Question: Does species richness increase without limit?
Favorableness of climate or environment
• Fewer species can tolerate climatic extremes.
• Premise: ideal conditions for life are found in the tropics
• Questions: What is the limit to evolutionary rate as a function of latitude?
Constancy, stability or predictability of climate or
environment • Fewer species can tolerate varying
environments; those that do tolerate great ranges of environment have broad niches
• Premise: seasons less pronounced in tropical latitudes
• Problem: some species-rich environments do occur in seasonal environments; some stable environments are poor in species.
• Questions: Do fluctuating environments select for broad tolerance, broad niches, and low specialization?
Variant – speed of speciation
Rapoport-Rescue Hypothesis
• Range size varies inversely with latitude• Because seasonality increases with
latitude, species with broad tolerance are found at higher latitudes
• Northern hemisphere fits better than soutehrn hemisphere
Energy & Productivity• Without production, no diversity• More primary production allows more
energy and thus more species• The Paradox of Enrichment (diversity
increases and then decreases with productivity)
• Problem: many species poor habitats are highly productive, and some unproductive habitats are highly diverse
• Question: Why do competitive dominants evolve in some ecosystems
Biotic interactions or Coevolution
• Species diversity begets possible interactions, leading to more species
• Premise: tropics, being more diverse, have more specialized coevolutionary relationships
• Questions: – Does this argument require that there already be
a diversity gradient for this effect to be more pronounced in the tropics?
– Does the latitudinal gradient reflect a gradient from selection by biotic interaction to selection by physical factors
Competition • Competitive exclusion limits richness.• Competition promotes specialization,
divergence, and niche partitioning.• Premise: tropics have higher competition,
more niche divergence.• Question: competitive pressure to
specialize would not occur without diversity—which came first?
Predation • Predation prevents competitive exclusion.• Janzen-Connell hypothesis on tree
regeneration vs. density• Premise: tropics, being more diverse, have
more predators, pests, and diseases, so competitive exclusion less likely.
• Question: Does a latitudinal gradient in predators, pests, and diseases exist and how did this come about?
Global Mechanisms1. Area, Heterogeneity & Geometry2. Time (Age, Time , History, Stability?)3. Climate/Environment
- Favorableness of climate or environment- Constancy, stability or predictability of
climate or environment - Energy-diversity or Species-energy Theory - Productivity
4. Biotic interactions or Coevolution- Competition - Predation
Species pools
Zobel 1997
Regional patterns & mechanisms
- Moisture & Elevation- Substrate- Production- Succession
Succession in a neotropical rain forest (0.5ha)
• Years 3-5 30-50 100-150 >300
• Birds 21 49 127 236• Primates 0 2-6 6-8 8-12• Trees 20 33 64 112
River FloodplainRiver Floodplain
River Bedrock Scour BarRiver Bedrock Scour Bar
Scoured IslandScoured Island
Native
Exotic
Upland(1090 plots)
Riparian (121 plots)
31.12
0.20 268 plots with exotics
55.66
7.98 110 plots with exotics
Mean Species Richness
After Brown & Peet 2003
Not discussed in lecture
Community patterns and mechanisms
- Environmental tolerance- Competition – the paradox of
enrichment- Slow dynamics- Suppression of dominance- Immediate disturbance hypothesis- Spatial mass effects – Propagule pressure- Temporal mass effects- Asymmetry of competition- Ecological equivalency
Willig et al. 2003. Annual Reviews E&S
Does diversity matter?- Stability ?- Productivity ?- Invasibility ?