Reef Fish Diversity Lab Assignment
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Montgomery County Community College *
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222
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Pages
2
Uploaded by jcedrone4970
Reef Fish Diversity Lab Assignment
Table 1.
The measurement of species diversity from different regions in the Caribbean Sea
from 2008 to 2012.
Region
R
a
α
b
β
c
H
d
J’
e
Bahamas
10
5.2
1.9
1.32
0.57
Cayman Islands
12
5.8
2.1
1.30
0.53
Mexico
12
6.9
1.7
0.64
0.26
Panama
8
2.8
3.0
1.40
0.68
Puerto Rico
10
4.3
2.3
1.20
0.52
a
Species richness is the total number of species recorded across all sites in the region.
b
Alpha is the mean species richness from all the sites in the region.
c
Beta is the ratio between regional and local species diversity, measuring the difference among
the sites.
d
The Shannon Index (H) is the measurement of evenness and richness, which measure
diversity.
e
J’ Pielou’s Index (J’) is the measurement of
evenness.
Questions:
1.
Which region had the highest alpha diversity (richness and mean alpha)?
a.
Mexico had the highest alpha diversity.
2.
Which region had the lowest alpha diversity?
a.
Panama had the lowest alpha diversity.
3.
Which region had the least similarity among sites with the region?
a.
Panama would have the least similarity as it has the highest beta value.
4.
Which region had the most similarity among sites with the region?
a.
Mexico would have the most similarity as it has the lowest beta value.
5.
Which region had the most even community?
a.
Panama is the most even community because it has the
highest J’.
6.
Which region had the least even community?
a.
Mexico is the least even community because it has the lowest J’.
7.
Which region was most diverse based on Shannon’s Index?
a.
The most diverse region based on the Shannon’s Index would be Panama.
8.
Which region was least diverse based on Shannon’s Index?
a.
The least diverse region based on the Shannon’s Index would be Mexico.
9.
Explain the apparent discrepancies in your answers to questions 1, 2, 7, and 8 based on
what you know about alpha diversity and
the Shannon’s Index.
a.
The discrepancies between questions 1, 2, 7, and 8 lie in the calculation of the
Shannon’s Index, as the Shannon’s Index calculates the evenness and richness of
a community whereas the alpha diversity calculates only the richness. This
means that when there is a very rich area but not a lot of evenness, the
Shannon’s Index is going to appear low. This also means that if an area is not
very rich but
is very even, the Shannon’s index is going to be very high. This will
cause the alpha di
versity to differ from the Shannon’s Index, thus causing
Panama to be low in diversity and high in evenness and
high in Shannon’s Index
and causing Mexico to be high in diversity and low in evenness and low in
Shannon’s Index.
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