This accessible and timely book provides a comprehensive overview of how to measure biodiversity. The book highlights new developments, including innovative approaches to measuring taxonomic distinctness and estimating species richness, and evaluates these alongside traditional methods such as species abundance distributions, and diversity and evenness statistics. Helps the reader quantify and interpret patterns of ecological diversity, focusing on the measurement and estimation of species richness and abundance. Explores the concept of ecological diversity, bringing new perspectives to a field beset by contradictory views and advice. Discussion spans issues such as the meaning of community in the context of ecological diversity, scales of diversity and distribution of diversity among taxa Highlights advances in measurement paying particular attention to new techniques such as species richness estimation, application of measures of diversity to conservation and environmental management and addressing sampling issues Includes worked examples of key methods in helping people to understand the techniques and use available computer packages more effectively

This accessible and timely book provides a comprehensive overviewof how to measure biodiversity. The book highlights newdevelopments, including innovative approaches to measuringtaxonomic distinctness and estimating species richness, andevaluates these alongside traditional methods such as speciesabundance distributions, and diversity and evenness statistics.* Helps the reader quantify and interpret patterns of ecologicaldiversity, focusing on the measurement and estimation of speciesrichness and abundance.* Explores the concept of ecological diversity, bringing newperspectives to a field beset by contradictory views andadvice.* Discussion spans issues such as the meaning of community in thecontext of ecological diversity, scales of diversity anddistribution of diversity among taxa* Highlights advances in measurement paying particular attentionto new techniques such as species richness estimation, applicationof measures of diversity to conservation and environmentalmanagement and addressing sampling issues* Includes worked examples of key methods in helping people tounderstand the techniques and use available computer packages moreeffectively

Preface viiChapter 1. Introduction: measurement of (biological) diversity 1Chapter 2. The commonness, and rarity, of species 18Chapter 3. How many species? 72Chapter 4. An index of diversity 100Chapter 5. Comparative studies of diversity 131Chapter 6. Diversity in space (and time) 162Chapter 7. No prospect of an end 185References 194Worked Examples 216Index 248