Species Richness: Small Scale

Rebecca L Brown, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington, USA
Lee Anne Jacobs, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Robert K Peet, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Published online: December 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020488

Species richness, defined as the number of species per unit area, is perhaps the simplest measure of biodiversity. Understanding the factors that affect and are affected by small-scale species richness is fundamental to community ecology.

Keywords: biodiversity; species richness; community ecology; diversity

Figure 1. Species–area curves for four habitats, Las Cruces, Costa Rica, showing different rates of species accumulation in old-growth forest, a forest gap, an open field and under a shade tree in the open field (data from Rebecca Brown).
Figure 2. Species–individual curve for old-growth forest habitat, Las Cruces, Costa Rica (data from Rebecca Brown).
Figure 3. Illustration of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis about how disturbance affects species richness. Reprinted from Connell (1978) with permission from AAAS.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Community Structure | Biodiversity
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Article Title: Species Richness: Small Scale
 
How to Cite close
Brown, Rebecca L, Jacobs, Lee Anne, and Peet, Robert K(Dec 2007) Species Richness: Small Scale. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020488]