A supplementary tool to existing approaches for assessing ecosystem community structure

Abstract

Measures of biological or species diversity are central to ecology and conservation biology. Although there are several commonly used indices, each has shortcomings and all vary in the relative emphasis they place on the number of species and their relative abundance. We propose utilizing Fisher Information, not as a replacement for existing indices, but as a supplement to other indices because it is sensitive to community structure. We demonstrate how Shannon’s and Simpson’s diversity indices quantify the diversity of two different systems and how Fisher Information can enhance the analyses by comparing, as example, body size, and phylogenetic diversity of the different communities. Fisher Information is sensitive to the order in which species are entered into the analysis, and therefore, it can detect differences in community structure. Thus, the Fisher Information index can be useful in helping understand and analyze biodiversity of ecosystems and in comparing ecological communities.