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Biodiversity Index Formula:
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The Biodiversity Index (D) measures species diversity in a community. It calculates the probability that two individuals randomly selected from a sample will belong to different species, with values ranging from 0 (no diversity) to nearly 1 (high diversity).
The calculator uses the Simpson's Diversity Index formula:
Where:
Explanation: The index accounts for both species richness (number of species) and evenness (distribution of individuals among species).
Details: Biodiversity indices are crucial for ecological studies, conservation efforts, and monitoring ecosystem health. They help scientists compare diversity across different habitats and track changes over time.
Tips: Enter the count of individuals for each species as comma-separated values (e.g., "5,10,8,12"). All values must be positive numbers.
Q1: What does a higher D value indicate?
A: Higher D values indicate greater biodiversity in the community being studied.
Q2: What is the range of possible values for D?
A: D ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 represents no diversity (all individuals belong to one species) and values closer to 1 represent high diversity.
Q3: How does this differ from other biodiversity indices?
A: Simpson's Index emphasizes species dominance, giving more weight to common species than rare ones, unlike Shannon Index which gives more weight to rare species.
Q4: When should I use this index?
A: This index is particularly useful when you're interested in the probability of two randomly selected individuals belonging to different species.
Q5: Are there limitations to this index?
A: Like all diversity indices, it doesn't provide information about species identity and can be sensitive to sample size and sampling methods.