Species diversity

Species diversity is the effective number of different species that are represented in a collection of
individuals. Species diversity consists of two components, species richness and species evenness.
Species richness is a simple count of species, whereas species evenness quantifies how equal
the abundances of the species are.
We use

D=

N (N-1)
n (n-1)

to calculate species diversity. The higher the value calculated in an environment means the more
stable it is. It hence means the environment would more likely be able to withstand disturbance.

Trends in species diversity

The observed species diversity is affected not only by the number of individuals but also by the
heterogeneity of the sample. If individuals are drawn from different habitats, the species diversity of
the resulting set can be expected to be higher than if all individuals are drawn from a similar
environment.
Increasing the area sampled increases observed species diversity both because more individuals get
included in the sample and because large areas are environmentally more heterogeneous than small
areas.

DIVERSITY WITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECES

The diversity within a species is commonly called genetic diversity and its important in a species
health and resilience cannot be understated. The more genetically diverse a species is the more
likely the species will survive disease and hardship.
In the case of diversity between a species the overall community richness is what is sustained and
protected. The more diversity between species the more stable the environment it belongs too. The
relationship between species diversity and community stability highlights the need to maintain the
greatest richness possible within biological communities. Undisturbed species-rich communities have
the resilience to sustain a functioning ecosystem upon which life depends. These communities also
are better able to absorb the effects of foreign species.

COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM STABLITY

The more diversity found within and between species result in greater ecosystem and ecosystem
stability. The stability of an ecosystem is the ability to remain the same in face of a disturbance. The

ecosystem stability depends on the function or character of the ecosystem being considered and the
time scale over which it is being considered.
The greater the stability of the ecosystem the more resilient the species are to disease and
environmental pressure. The more species there are the more likely some will be lost after a
disturbance. Hence, diversity also decreases ecosystem stability in terms of species retention.
NOTE:
Complex and therefor fragile communities are hence only found in stable environments. When you
want to retain ecosystem productivity after a disturbance, more species is better than less.

Population
Biotic potential
A population is the total number of all the organisms of the same species who live in the
same geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding. Biotic potential is the
maximum reproductive capacity of a population under optimum environmental conditions. This is
usually restricted by environmental resistance.
It is generally only reached when environmental conditions are very favourable. A species reaching its
biotic potential would exhibit exponential population growth and be said to have a high fertility, that is,
how many offspring are produced per mother.

Populations occur in three main forms which includes linear, cubic and exponential as seen in the
diagram below.

In this study we will deal with exponential growth.

Exponential population growth
In this type of growth an extremely rapid increase in the rate of population growth. Most populations
have the potential to expand at an exponential rate, since reproduction is generally a multiplicative
process. Two of the most basic factors that affect the rate of population growth are the birth rate, and
the death rate. The intrinsic rate of increase is the birth rate minus the death rate. Two modes of
population growth:
The Exponential curve (also known as a J-curve) occurs when there is no limit to population size.

The Logistic curve (also known as an S-curve) shows the effect of a limiting factor (in this case the
carrying capacity of the environment).

Environmental Resistance
Environmental resistance are the conditions in the environment that prevent species population from
growing out of control. It is a mixture of biotic and abiotic conditions in the environment. These
conditions includes a mixture of abiotic factors such as temperature, and biotic factors such as natural enemies
(biological control agents) to limit the organism for expressing its full capacity to reproduce.

Carrying capacity
The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the maximum population size of
the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other
necessities available in the environment. It is simply defined as the environment's maximal
load, which is different from the concept of population equilibrium. Figure 1.12 below shows the
carrying capacity of a population.

The following diagram shows three (3) population situations and the carrying capacities associated
with it.