Species diversity is a multidimensional ecological concept describing the variability of species within a community, typically quantified through measures that integrate both species richness (the number of species) and evenness (the relative abundances of those species). It underpins community structure, ecosystem functioning, and resilience by influencing processes such as resource use, trophic interactions, and stability against perturbations. Species diversity is often assessed using alpha diversity (within-community), beta diversity (turnover among communities), and gamma diversity (regional diversity), and is commonly measured with indices such as Shannon, Simpson, or Hill numbers, each emphasizing different aspects of richness and evenness.
Researchers have conducted the world's biggest ever bird survey, recording 971 different species living in forests and cattle pastures across the South American country of Colombia. This represents almost 10% of the world's ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2025
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147
Biodiversity is in rapid decline, across the UK and globally. Butterflies are excellent for helping us understand these changes. Where butterfly communities are rich and diverse, so too is the ecosystem. But the opposite ...
Ecology
Jul 20, 2025
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53
Imagine a prairie. How many plant species do you see? Maybe you're picturing yellow coneflowers, some little bluestem, perhaps a few asters. But plant ecologists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say these ecosystems ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 17, 2025
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Despite widespread human impacts on wildlife diversity worldwide, many fish communities on the seafloor have maintained their uniqueness, reports a new study led by Zoë Kitchel, formerly of Rutgers University, and colleagues, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 9, 2025
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58
Villages, often separated from larger towns and cities, consist of clusters of households and a few public buildings. Despite their long history, the biodiversity of European villages has been understudied compared to urban ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 4, 2025
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98
A new study published in the journal Soil Ecology Letters, shows the importance of old termite mounds as habitats for a wide range of insects and other invertebrates in the Bornean tropical rainforest. The research team includes ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 27, 2025
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59
On occasion, it is of vital importance to consider how little we know about the spinning rock we all live on. Take coral reefs, for example. Given how much they've been studied, you'd think we've learned just about everything ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 24, 2025
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74
In a unique collaboration between the University of Groningen and the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, researchers studied population trends across 3,058 populations of various species throughout the entire Wadden ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 18, 2025
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22
From diverse shapes and sizes to complex dispersals and defenses, seed traits hold the secrets to how plants adapt, reproduce, and survive. Yet, when it comes to global plant trait data, there is a noticeable gap: We know ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 12, 2025
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17
Forests play a crucial role in promoting health and well-being, but not all forests provide the same benefits. A large-scale international study, co-led by the University of Surrey and the University of Ghent, demonstrates ...
Environment
May 19, 2025
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