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Assignment 2 Simpsons Index

The document provides instructions and materials for students to calculate Simpson's Diversity Index using field data collected on species abundance to measure biodiversity across communities. Students are asked to record species count data from fieldwork, calculate the Index for different communities, and answer questions about interpreting the results and discussing the importance of maintaining biodiversity and the impacts of industrialization.

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Dennlloyd Fernandez
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39 views

Assignment 2 Simpsons Index

The document provides instructions and materials for students to calculate Simpson's Diversity Index using field data collected on species abundance to measure biodiversity across communities. Students are asked to record species count data from fieldwork, calculate the Index for different communities, and answer questions about interpreting the results and discussing the importance of maintaining biodiversity and the impacts of industrialization.

Uploaded by

Dennlloyd Fernandez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JMJ Marist Brothers

Notre Dame of Marbel University


City of Koronadal

Name: Pama, Carl Jazzpher D. Course: BSCE


Class Schedule: 4:00 – 5:30 TTH Subject: MSTE 111
Date Submitted: 04/05/23 Score:

Assignment 1

Simpson’s Diversity Index

Ecologists, such as those working for the Environmental Agency, are interested in species
diversity. This is because diversity is usually proportional to the stability of the ecosystem: the
greater the diversity the greater the stability. The most stable communities have large numbers
of species which are fairly evenly distributed in good-sized populations. A diversity index takes
into account the number of species present, as well as the abundance of each species. Species
diversity should not be confused with species richness. The number of species per sample, e.g.
plants in a quadrat, can be used as a measure of richness.

Environmental scientists use a variety of different methods to compare diversity in different


ecosystems and to monitor the progress of conservation measures. One of the most popular
methods is to use the relative abundance of different species to calculate Simpson’s Index:

Where, N = the total number of organisms of all species and n = the total number of organisms
of a particular species from which Simpson’s Diversity Index, 1 – D, is found. The equation 1
－D is used rather than D as a measure of diversity because it is more logical and less likely to
cause confusion. The scale then gives a score from 0 to 1 with higher scores showing higher
diversity (instead of being associated with low scores).

Generally, Simpson index ranges from 0 to 1. Mature and stable communities have high
diversity value (0.6 to 0.9), while the communities under stress conditions, exhibiting low
diversity, usually show close to zero value (Dash, 2003 as cited by Shah and Pandit, 2013).
Simpson diversity index is always higher where the community is dominated by less number of
species and when the dominance is shared by large number of species (Whittaker, 1965 as
cited in Shah and Pandit, 2013). Now D is a measure of dominance, so as D increases, diversity
(in the sense of evenness) decreases. Thus, Simpsonʼs index is usually reported as its
complement 1-D (or sometimes 1/D or –lnD). Since D takes on values between zero and one
and approaches one in the limit of a monoculture, (1-D) provides an intuitive proportional
measure of diversity that is much less sensitive to species richness (S).

Objective: To calculate and interpret species diversity using the Simpson's Index and
Simpson's Diversity Index

Materials: Calculator; Reference books


JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
City of Koronadal

Recording sheet for field work

Sampling Technique: Line Intercept or Belt transect


Description of ecosystem investigated
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Table 1. Community 1
Species n n-1 n (n-1)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
N= Total=

Table 2. Community 2

Species n n-1 n (n-1)


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
JMJ Marist Brothers
Notre Dame of Marbel University
City of Koronadal

7.
8.
9.
10.
N= Total=

Guide Questions

1. Interpret the result of the evaluation. What could have attributed to this result?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

2. Explain the importance of maintaining the diversity of species in an ecosystem.


____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

3. Discuss how continued industrialization lead to the destruction of biodiversity.


____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Conclusion
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

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