Simpson's Diversity
Measure of diversity in a habitat
Accounts for species richness and eveness
n = number of individuals of each species
N = total number of individuals of all species
high value = diverse habitat
- environmental change may only affect 1 or 2 species
low value = habitat dominated by a few species
- small environmental change could affect whole habitat
# Example
| Species | n | n/N | n/Nā |
|---|---|---|---|
| woodlouse | 22 | 0.289 | 0.0838 |
| mouse | 5 | 0.0658 | 0.004 |
| shrew | 7 | 0.0131 | 0.0002 |
| earthworm | 32 | 0.421 | 0.177 |
| grasshopper | 15 | 0.197 | 0.039 |
| owl | 1 | 0.0131 | 0.0002 |
| TOTAL | N: 76 | - | šØ 0.304 |
Simpson’s Diversity = 1-0.304 = 0.696