Indicator Species and Scale of Observation

Arthropods, because of their small size, diversity, and sensitivity to environmental variability, can be good indicators of habitat heterogeneity, ecosystem biodiversity, and environmental stress. Species richness among arthropod taxa can predict the richness of other taxa from an indicator, or targ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation biology 1995-08, Vol.9 (4), p.939-942
Main Author: Weaver, Jan C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Arthropoda
Arthropods
Biodiversity conservation
Biological and medical sciences
Biological taxonomies
Coleoptera
Conservation biology
Estimated taxes
Forest stands
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitat conservation
Larvae
Synecology
Taxa
Terrestrial ecosystems
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Description
Summary:Arthropods, because of their small size, diversity, and sensitivity to environmental variability, can be good indicators of habitat heterogeneity, ecosystem biodiversity, and environmental stress. Species richness among arthropod taxa can predict the richness of other taxa from an indicator, or target taxon. If different taxa accumulate species at different rates as area increases, then correlations among taxa, or taxon percentages of total species richness, will vary with area size. Because a useful indicator has to be independent of sample size, it is critical to measure the influence of sample size on indicator taxa.
ISSN:0888-8892
1523-1739
DOI:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09040939.x