LESSON 8

THE COMMUNITY
General information

COMMUNITY
Independent unity composed by
plants
l t andd animals
i l interdependent
i t d d t

SYNECOLOGY??
►- DESCRIPTIVE: what is there
there?
?
► - FUNTIONAL: how it works?
works?
► - STRUCTURAL: dinamic
dinamic??
General information

- PHYTOSOCIOLOGY
Importance relationship between population
and community>>
community>>environmental
environmental factors

A community is characterized by by::

 Trophic structure (productors,
productors,
consumes, decomposers…)
p
decomposers …))
 Diversity
 Dominance
D i
 Vertical structure (scale
scale:: i.e. jjungle
jungle)
g )
General information

Similarity vs Diversity

1.-- SIMILARITY
1.

- Point out the degree of heterogeneity

- Compare communities in the same or
different moment
- Similarity indices:
indices:
 Jaccard (Ij
Ij))
 Sokal--Michener (Ssm
Sokal Ssm))
General information

► Jaccard index (Ij)

Ij)
c
Ij   100
abc
► Where::
Where
• a: species in sample 1
• b: species in sample 2
• c: species in both samples
General information

► Sokal--Michener index (Ssm

Sokal Ssm))
cd
Ssm 
abcd
► Where::
Where
• a: species in sample 1
• b: species in sample 2
• c: species in both samples
• d: species neither in sample 1 nor 2 but
present in anothers
p
General information

2.-- DIVERSITY
2.
- Indicates biological richness (different sps
sps.)
.))
- Diversityy indices
indices::
 Species richness (S)
 Shanon--Wiener diversity (H
Shanon (H’))
 Uniformity (J)
 Simpson diversity(D)
diversity(D)

Density ≠ Diversity
General information

► S
Species
i richness
i h i d (S):
index (S)
Indicates number of species

S  n º species pi = number members / total number

► Where::
Where
• S: species
p in each communityy
• pi:: relative abundance
pi
 Example
SPECIES COMM 1
COMM. Pi COMM.
COMM 2 Pi

A 99 99/100 50 50/10
0
B 1 1/100 50 50/10
0
TOTAL 100 100

S1 2
S1=2 S2
S2=22
General information

► Shanon--Wiener diversity index(H’):

Shanon index(H’):
Indicates richness and uniformity in distribution

H '   piLpi
iL i
► Where::
Where
• pi: relative abundance (ra
pi: ra))
• Lpi:: napierian logarithm of ra
Lpi
► Limits::
Limits
 minimum: S=1  pi=1/1=1  H’=
minimum: H’=--1L1=
1L1=0 0
 maximum:: one member p
maximum per species:
species
p :
pi=1/S H '   1 L 1   S  1 L 1    L 1  L1  LS   LS
S S S S S
 Example
SPECIES COMM 1
COMM. Pi piLpi
iL i COMM.
COMM 2 Pi piLpi
iL i

A 99 99/100 -0,01 50 50/100 -0,346

B 1 1/100 -0,05 50 50/100 -0,346

TOTAL 100 -0,06 100 -0,692

S1 2
S1=2 S2
S2=22
H’1=0 06
H’1=0,06 H’2=0,69
H’2=0 69

0 < H’ < 0,69

0 69
General information

► Uniformity index (J or E)
H'
J
LS
► Where::
Where
• H’: Shanon-
H’: Shanon-Wiener diveristy index
• LS:: napierian logarithm of species richness
LS
► Limits::
Limits
 minimum: H’=0  J=
minimum: J=0
0
 maximum:: H’=LS  J=
maximum J=11
 Example
SPECIES COMM. 1 Pi piLpi COMM. 2 Pi piLpi

A 99 99/100 -0,01 50 50/10 -0,346

0
B 1 1/100 -0,05
0 05 50 50/10 -0,346
0 346
0
TOTAL 100 -0,06
, 100 -0,693
,

S1=2 S2=2
H’1=0,06 H’2=0,69
J1=0,08 J2=1

0<J<1
General information

► Simpson diversity index (D)

D  1   pi 2

► Where::
Where
• pi:: relative abundance
pi
► Limits::
Limits
 minimum:: pi=1  D = 1-
minimum 1-1  D=0
2
1
 maximum: pi=1/S
maximum:  D  1    S 

D=1-- S(1/S2) = 1
D=1 1--1/S (with
(with high diversity S
is high so D
D1)
 Example
SPECIES COMM. 1 Pi piLpi COMM. 2 Pi piLpi

A 99 99/100 -0,01
0 01 50 50/100 -0,346
0 346

B 1 1/100 -0,05 50 50/100 -0,346

TOTAL 100 -0,06 100 -0,693

S1=2 S2=2
H’1=0
H 1=0,06
06 H
H’2=0
2=0,69
69
J1=0,08 J2=1
D1=0,02 D=0,5
0 < D < 0,5
 In two alpine meadows data presented were obtained
regarding herbaceous species
species.. Find out:
out:
a) Species richness (S)
b) Shanon
Sh
Shanon- -Wiener
Wi i d (H’)
index
c) Uiformity index (J)
d) Simpson diversity index (D)

Species Community 1 Community2

Festuca eskia 50 20
F t
Festuca paniculata
i l t 30 10
Trifolium alpinum 0 30
Agrostis rupestris 0 30
Carex curvula 20 10

Solution: S1=3, S2=5, H’1=1.03, H’2=1.51, J1=0.94, J2=0.94, D1=0.62, D2=0.76

Factors affecting diversity

1. Time
2. Stability
3. Environmental heterogeneinity
4
4. Productivity
5. Competence-
Competence
p -Predation
Factors affecting diversity

1.-- TIME
1.

- The
h longer
l the
h time theh higher
h h the
h
diversity (positive factor)
- High oportunity of dispersion of
species to another ecosystems
2 - STABILITY
2.-
2.

- Higher stability higher diversity

(positive
(p factor))
Factors affecting diversity

3.-- HETEROGENEITY
3.

- > heterogeneity
h > diversity
d (
(positive
factor)
4 - PRODUCTIVITY
4.

- > productivity > diversity (positive

factor)
- Energy flow
Factors affecting diversity

5.-- COMPETENCE
5. COMPETENCE--PREDATION

- > competence and/and/or

d/or > predation
d >
diversity (positive factor)
- Negative relationships drive to
specialization and so to higher
diversity
Dominance in a community

Determine conditions in which the rest

of species will live
► - Reason
Reason::
 Size (high amount of energy and materia,
capacity
it to
t create
t microclimates
microclimates…)
i li t …))
 Activity (exclusive function
function))
 Abundance (high amount of energy and
materia in the ecosystem
ecosystem…)
y …))
In the following communities we find the reported species in
the given proportions.
proportions. Determine:
Determine: species richness (S)(S);;
Shanon--Wiener index (H’);
Shanon (H’); uniformity index (J) and Simpson
diversity index (D).
(D). Order communities in increasing order of
diversity..
diversity

Species Com.1 Com.2 Com.3 Com.4

A 0,50 0,20 0,10 0,95
B 0
0,05
05 0 20 0,10
0,20 0 10 0,01
0 01
C 0,05 0,20 0,10 0,01
D 0,05
, 0,20
, 0,10
, 0,01
,
E 0,10 0,20 0,10 0,01
F 0,25 0,00 0,10 0,01
G 0,00 0,00 0,10 0,00
H 0,00 0,00 0,10 0,00
I 0
0,00
00 0 00 0,10
0,00 0 10 0,00
0 00
J 0,00 0,00 0,10 0,00
In a ecosystem we take four samples over one
communityy of insects in spring,
spring
p g, g, summer
summer,, autumn and
winter.. Data are presented in the following table with
winter
the insect ppercentage
g in each season.
season. Calculate Simposn
p
diversity index in each season
season..

► Species Spr. Sum.

Sum. Autu.
Autu. Wint.
Wint.
► A 16 32 0 35
► B 4 6 0 0
► C 3 0 83 29
► D 25 2 0 0
► E 43 3 0 0
► F 1 0 17 35
► G 3 35 0 0
► H 5 21 0 0