A variety of objective means exist to empirically measure biodiversity. Each measure relates to a particular use of the data, and is likely to be associated with the variety of genes. Biodiversity is commonly measured in terms of taxonomic richness of a geographic area over a time interval. In order to calculate biodiversity, species evenness, species richness, and species diversity are to be obtained first. Species evenness[1] is the relative number of individuals of each species in a given area. Species richness[2] is the number of species present in a given area. Species diversity[3] is the relationship between species evenness and species richness. There are many ways to measure biodiversity within a given ecosystem. However, the two most popular are Shannon-Weaver diversity index,[4] commonly referred to as Shannon diversity index, and the other is Simpsons diversity index.[5] Although many scientists prefer to use Shannon's diversity index simply because it takes into account species richness.[6]
Biodiversity is usually plotted as the richness of a geographic area, with some reference to a temporal scale. Types of biodiversity include taxonomic or species, ecological, morphological, and genetic diversity. Taxonomic diversity, that is the number of species, genera, family is the most commonly assessed type.[7] A few studies have attempted to quantitatively clarify the relationship between different types of diversity. For example, the biologist Sarda Sahney has found a close link between vertebrate taxonomic and ecological diversity.[8]
Conservation biologists have also designed a variety of objective means to empirically measure biodiversity. Each measure of biodiversity relates to a particular use of the data. For practical conservationists, measurements should include a quantification of values that are commonly shared among locally affected organisms, including humans[clarification needed]. For others, a more economically defensible definition should allow the ensuring of continued possibilities for both adaptation and future use by humans, assuring environmental sustainability.
As a consequence, biologists argue that this measure is likely to be associated with the variety of genes. Since it cannot always be said which genes are more likely to prove beneficial, the best choice[citation needed] for conservation is to assure the persistence of as many genes as possible. For ecologists, this latter approach is sometimes considered too restrictive, as it prohibits ecological succession.
^Chakraborty, Jaya; Palit, Krishna; Das, Surajit (2022), "Metagenomic approaches to study the culture-independent bacterial diversity of a polluted environment—a case study on north-eastern coast of Bay of Bengal, India", Microbial Biodegradation and Bioremediation, Elsevier, pp. 81–107, doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-85455-9.00014-X, ISBN 9780323854559, S2CID 244883885, retrieved 2023-02-25
^Hamilton, Andrew J. (2005-04-01). "Species diversity or biodiversity?". Journal of Environmental Management. 75 (1): 89–92. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.012. ISSN 0301-4797. PMID 15748806.
^Ortiz-Burgos, Selene (2016), "Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index", in Kennish, Michael J. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Estuaries, Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 572–573, doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8801-4_233, ISBN 978-94-017-8801-4, retrieved 2023-02-25
^Allaby, Michael (2010), "Simpson's diversity index", A Dictionary of Ecology, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199567669.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-956766-9, retrieved 2023-02-25
^Morris, E. Kathryn; Caruso, Tancredi; Buscot, François; Fischer, Markus; Hancock, Christine; Maier, Tanja S.; Meiners, Torsten; Müller, Caroline; Obermaier, Elisabeth; Prati, Daniel; Socher, Stephanie A.; Sonnemann, Ilja; Wäschke, Nicole; Wubet, Tesfaye; Wurst, Susanne (September 2014). "Choosing and using diversity indices: insights for ecological applications from the German Biodiversity Exploratories". Ecology and Evolution. 4 (18): 3514–3524. Bibcode:2014EcoEv...4.3514M. doi:10.1002/ece3.1155. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 4224527. PMID 25478144.
^Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J. (2008). "Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1636): 759–65. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370. PMC 2596898. PMID 18198148.
^Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J.; Ferry, P.A. (2010). "Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 544–547. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024. PMC 2936204. PMID 20106856.
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