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Diversity Over Time

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Abstract

Temporal turnover is a fundamental feature of ecological communities. Darwin 1859 noted the ecological and evolutionary significance of turnover, Fisher and Preston acknowledged its role in their models of species abundance, while this ongoing and entirely natural rearrangement of species underpins key ecological concepts such as MacArthur and Wilson’s theory of island biogeography. However, the current focus on spatial patterns of diversity means that temporal changes are often overlooked. Here I argue that failure to take heed of the time frame over which data are collected can lead to both artefacts and artifictions. There are also deeper issues, such as the consequences for species richness estimation and rarefaction methods of a constantly changing community. Moreover, some of the confusion surrounding species abundance distributions may be resolved by taking account of time. A better appreciation of temporal turnover is essential for accurate diversity measurement and assessment, and, more importantly, will also lead to improved understanding of the processes that underpin community structure.

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Notes

  1. Rarefaction is used to ensure a fair comparison amongst samples or sites. It works by calculating the diversity (usually, but not invariably, in the form of species richness) of units given equal – typically the lowest common – sampling effort. Both sample-based and individual-based rarefaction are possible (Gotelli and Colwell 2001; Magurran 2004). Rarefaction is essential if different numbers of samples have been taken in space, or time. However if the number of samples, and the interval between them is equal, biological judgement is needed in deciding whether to perform individual based rarefaction.

  2. The observation that autocorrelation can lead to log-left-skew does not mean that all documented cases of log-left-skew are artefacts.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the referees for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gatty Marine Laboratory, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK

    Anne E. Magurran

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  1. Anne E. Magurran
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Correspondence to Anne E. Magurran.

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Magurran, A.E. Diversity Over Time. Folia Geobot 43, 319–327 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-008-9013-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-008-9013-x

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