Two 10 m × 10 m quadrats were sampled in two different forest patches.

Habitat A species counts: Species 1 = 30, Species 2 = 20, Species 3 = 10, Species 4 = 5, Species 5 = 5.

Habitat B species counts: Species 1 = 20, Species 2 = 20, Species 3 = 20, Species 4 = 5, Species 5 = 5.

(a) Calculate the Shannon diversity index $H' = -\sum_{i=1}^{S} p_i \ln p_i$ for each habitat (give answers to two decimal places).

(b) Compute the evenness $E = \frac{H'}{\ln S}$ for each habitat (two decimal places) and state which habitat has higher evenness.

Question

Two 10 m × 10 m quadrats were sampled in two different forest patches.

Habitat A species counts: Species 1 = 30, Species 2 = 20, Species 3 = 10, Species 4 = 5, Species 5 = 5.

Habitat B species counts: Species 1 = 20, Species 2 = 20, Species 3 = 20, Species 4 = 5, Species 5 = 5.

(a) Calculate the Shannon diversity index $H' = -\sum_{i=1}^{S} p_i \ln p_i$ for each habitat (give answers to two decimal places).

(b) Compute the evenness $E = \frac{H'}{\ln S}$ for each habitat (two decimal places) and state which habitat has higher evenness.

Accepted Answer

Habitat A: H' = 1.38, E = 0.85. Habitat B: H' = 1.45, E = 0.90. Habitat B has the higher evenness.

Neco 2025 Biology Question 45