Species

abundance,
diversity and
interactions
DR SHUHAIDA SHUIB
5.5.2015
LECTURE 1

Definitions
Community:
Various interacting species living in a defined area (ecosystem)
From various taxonomic groups microbes, fungi, plants, animals
Community structure comprise:
Number of species
Relative species abundance
Species diversity

What is a guild?

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/raiuniversity/b-sc-micro-biotech-biochem-i-es-u-2-ecology

The concept of species abundance

In 1948, Frank Preston published a seminal paper, "The Commonness, and Rarity, of Species
Characterized distributions of species abundance by lognormal curves

LOGNORMAL DISTRIBUTION: PRESTON

Species diversity: Fundamentals

Two factors define species diversity:
Species Richness (Margalef)
Number of species in the community.

Species Evenness (Pielou)

Relative abundance of species.

Quantitative Index of Species Diversity

Shannon Wiener Index
s
H = -pi logepi
i=l
H = Value of SW diversity index.
Pi = Number of individuals of species/
total number of samples.
Loge

= natural logarithm of pi.

S = Number of species in community.

Rank Abundance Curves

Relative abundance and species diversity in a community
shown by plotting:
Relative abundance of species against
Rank in abundance.
Greater evenness indicated by lower slope.

Rank Abundance Curves

A steep gradient : low
evenness, high ranking
species have higher
abundances than low
ranking species.
A shallow gradient
indicates high evenness
as the abundances of
different species are
similar.

Habitat complexity and heterogeneity

Theoretically: Species diversity increases with increasing complexity
What is habitat complexity?
The presence and arrangement of PHYSICAL structures in space
For example:
In tropical rainforests: Foliage height
In coral reefs: Reef structures
In mangroves: Roots, trees, leaves

What then, is habitat heterogeneity?

Patchiness (irregularity) of complexity
Eg: A small patch of habitat in a forest may be extremely complex, but can be
homogeneous. If it is heterogeneous, the distribution of complex structures will
vary over multiple spatial scales (August, P. 1983. The role of habitat complexity and
heterogeneity in structuring tropical mammal communities. Ecology. 64 (6): 1495-1507).

Mac Arthur & Mac Arthur 1961:

Positive association between bird
species diversity and foliage height
diversity.
More complex habitat offers more
potential niches
Niche: Tolerances and requirements
defining conditions and resources
by individuals/species to survive.
Hutchinson (1957): Niche is made
up of dimensions therefore the
real niche of a species is
multidimensional.

Mangroves: Habitat complexity and heterogeneity

Example of a complex and heterogeneous habitat

with various potential niches: Mangroves.

Highly complex physical structures comprising

roots (pneumatophores), tree bark, leaves, detritus
on floor

All create different niches for different animal

species to colonize

In scales of cm to km, the arrangements of these

physical structures differ significantly (patchy)

How does complexity affect species abundance and diversity in

mangroves?
1. Reduced predation
The presence of roots, example Avicennia marina reduces predation. Some predators could not access
smaller prey hiding in between narrow root mats. This increases the abundance and diversity of prey
hiding in structures in mangroves.
2. Protection from harsh conditions
Detrital matter on the forest floor and shade provided by mangrove tree canopy shelter macrofauna
(example crabs) from mortality caused by increases in temperature and desiccation. Increased abundance
and activity have been found under areas that are sheltered compared with exposed areas.
3. Food
Mangroves are extreme habitats, macrofauna that forage need to find food in time while avoiding
predators and environmental stress. Food particles are trapped in between roots, microbes on surfaces of
detritus and algae growing on root structures and trees provide increased availability of different types of
food. This can be exploited by different species which may feed on different sources of food.

4. Productivity
The various niches available in mangroves cater to different species, each with specific
requirements. Mangroves are highly productive, similar to tropical rainforests despite being
categorized as a low nutrient system. This is because the use of resources by each animal
is efficient in mangroves all available resources are used and then cycled back internally
in a more enriched form to be used by fauna and plants. This is why some species of crabs
and molluscs are highly abundant in mangroves.
5. Solid foundations
The presence of physical structures: provides a solid foundation for the building of animal
habitats. Example, crabs have been found to build burrows near roots, so that the
sediment does not collapse. Barnacles have been found to colonize the underside of
leaves. In one mangrove tree, macrofauna of different species and abundance were found
on roots, under leaves, on tree barks and in between detrital matter on the forest floor.

Disturbance and diversity

Grime (1977): Any process that removes biomass from the community, which
significantly influences species coexistence and maintenance of biodiversity Connell
(1978) . (Source: Hughes,A.(2010)Disturbance and Diversity: An Ecological Chicken and Egg Problem.Nature Education
Knowledge3(10):48))

White and Pickett defined disturbance:

Any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem, community, or
population structure and changes resources, substrate availability, or the physical
environment.
Major characteristics: frequency and intensity

Sousa (1979) : High and low levels of disturbance would reduce diversity, intermediate levels promote
higher diversity.
1.Species diversity is low on small, frequently disturbed boulders, inhabited by: primarily of fastgrowing colonizer species;
2.Large boulders are dominated by competitively superior algae, leading to low diversity;
3.Diversity is maximized on intermediate boulders, with a mix of colonizers, competitive
dominants, and species that lie in between these two extremes. Source: Hughes,A.(2010)Disturbance
and Diversity: An Ecological Chicken and Egg Problem.Nature Education Knowledge3(10):48)

TheIntermediate Disturbance Hypothesis(IDH)

states that local species diversity is maximized
when ecologicaldisturbanceis neither too rare
nor too frequent.
At high levels ofdisturbance, due to frequent
forest fires or human impacts like deforestation, all
species are at risk of going extinct.

Source: www.nature.com

Species: Interactions
Species interactions : basis for many ecosystem properties and processes such as nutrient
cycling and food webs.
Variability of interactions these interactions: dependent on evolutionary context and
environmental conditions.
Can be either intra-specific or inter-specific interactions.
Intra-specific interactions : interactions that occur between individuals of the same species,
Inter-specific interactions: interactions that occur between two or more species

Source: Lang,J.M.&Benbow,M.E.(2013)Species Interactions and Competition.Nature Education Knowledge4(4):8

Types of species interactions:

Direct interactions: Feeding activities affecting
food web structure
Indirect interactions: Trophic cascades,
indirect commensalism, apparent competition

Indirect Commensalism
One species indirectly benefits another species (through a
third species) while it is neither helped or harmed
Example: Martinsen, Driebe, Whitham (1998)
Beavers fell cottonwood trees which then produce stump
sprouts
Beetles prefer consuming high nutrition sprout leaves
Beetles grow larger, faster and utilize defensive compounds found in leaves

Apparent Competition
Negative effects between two competitors who share a predator
or herbivore
One species may facilitate the presence or increase the abundance of the
predator which suppresses the second species

Orrock, Witter, Reichman (2008)

Exotic plant Brassica nigra sheltered mammals which increased herbivory
on native bunchgrass Nassella pulchra

Indirect Interactions

Therefore, Keystone
species exert strong
effects on community
structure large
contribution to
ecosystem functions

Negative effects of keystone species loss:

Akeystone speciesis aplantoranimalthat
plays a uniqueandcrucialrole in the way
anecosystem functions.
Increase in several predators/consumers
when one keystone predator is removed.
The ecosystem cannot support an unlimited
number of animals, and the prey will soon
compete with each other for food and water
resources.
Failure of reproduction and recruitment of
certain plants
New plants or animals could also come into
the habitat and push out thenative species.
Loss of a modifier (ecosystem engineer)
results in loss structure/materials affecting
energy flow and resources.

THE END