Coral Reef Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a vital natural resource The variety of the earth’s species, the genes they contain, the ecosystems in which they live and the ecosystem processes. Biodiversity is a vital natural resource

Basic Concepts of Biological Diversity Genetic diversity: total # of genetic characteristics. Habitat diversity: total # different kinds of habitat in a given unit area. Species diversity: total # of a specific species, sub species or group of species

10 species; 100 ind, 87 elephants, 9 sp w/ 2 ind each

10 species; 100 ind, 10 ind each species

Species Diversity Merely counting the number of species is not enough to describe biological diversity.

Basic Concepts of Biological Diversity Genetic diversity: total # of genetic characteristics of a specific species, sub species or group of species. Habitat diversity: the different kinds of habitat in a given unit area. Species diversity: Species richness- total # of sp Species evenness- the relative abundance of sp Species dominance- the most abundant sp

What is the Diversity Index of that forest? A diversity index is a mathematical measure of diversity in a community. Important to select area, understand what you are counting and be familiar with the organisms in order to do a DI What is the Diversity Index of that forest?

Species Richness (diversity) Species richness not very informative Each community has 5 spp & 50 individuals Spp1 Spp 2 Spp 3 Spp 4 Spp 5 Comm A 10 B 46 1

Take a few minutes to look over the spread sheet You will observe data gathered on 3 different ecosystems. Write down 3 observations Which ecosystems are more diverse; those with larger DI numbers or smaller ? Explain

Take a few minutes to look over the spread sheet Write down 3 observations Which ecosystems are more diverse; those with larger DI numbers or smaller ? Explain Compare Ecosystems A and B- How do their indices compare? Each has 10 different species, Ecosystem A has only 29 organisms and Ecosystem B has over 300 Which has a healthier Diversity Index? Why Compare the last two Ecosystem indices. What do you notice?

A B C   pop. DI Totals 29 0.1058 311 0.1067 4400 0.1209 Species 1 2 0.0048 23 0.0055 100 0.0005 Species 2 3 0.0107 200 0.0021 Species 3 4 0.0190 34 0.0120 500 0.0129 Species 4 22 0.0050 600 0.0186 Species 5 33 0.0113 400 0.0083 Species 6 44 0.0200 700 0.0253 Species 7 Species 8 300 0.0046 Species 9 Species 10 DI Sample

Diversity indices To get a better description of the community we need to get a measure of spp richness and evenness of their distribution

Diversity indices Over 60 indices used in ecology Indices used to measure proportional abundance Two major forms: Dominance indices (e.g. Simpson index) Information indices (e.g. Shannon Weiner index)

Simpson Diversity Index (D) It takes into account the number of species present, as well as the relative abundance of each species D ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 representing infinite diversity and 1 representing no diversity

Simpson Diversity Index (D) Ds = (n1(n1 -1)/N(N-1)) Where: Ds = Bias corrected form for Simpson Index n1 = number of individuals of spp 1 N = Total number of spp in community In this form as diversity increases index value gets smaller

Simpson Diversity Index (D) Sugar Maple Red Yellow Birch Oak White Ash Total # Trees 56 48 12 6 3 125 ((56*55)/(125*124))+ ((48*47)/(125*124)) + …………. ….((3*2)/125*124)) = 0.35509

Diversity Lab DIRECTIONS: In this activity your "ecosystem" will be the school parking lot, and the "species" will be the different car models and colors. As a class, we will be comparing the species diversity of the student and staff parking lots. Two large groups- Each split into 2 groups one of the subgroups does Faculty the other Student Cars.

Quadrat Sampling Students analyze images of two different reefs and make a hypothesis on the rate the health of each. • Transect studies are used to determine the biodiversity of two areas. • In order to compare the two reef systems a line or path is used for sampling. A ten meter transect in the field is transferred to every 12 inches in the classroom • Students determine and classify the number and type of corals quadrat sampling method in the classroom. • Just because there are the same number of total organisms and species in two areas does not mean that they have the same biodiversity. • Conclusion should be made once data is collected. The hypothesis analyzed and new hypothesis typically formed based on the data.

Quadrat Sampling Estimating percent cover on the benthos using a metre-square quadrat with string or fishing line strung across at 10 cm intervals.

Transect and Quadrat Sampling

Habitat A

Common Coral Group SOFT CORALS HARD CORALS GORGONIANS Orange Tree Coral Dendronephthya genus S-Tree Medium- Rusty G-Rust Medium- Brown G-Brow H-Eleg Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei) Coral Group Counted if <1cm Ricordea Mushroom S-Rico Zoanthus Eagle Eye S-ZoEy Acropora Staghorn Coral H-Stag Brain coral family Faviidae H-Brai Zoanthus S-ZoBr Cyanobacteria covering coral H-EuGr Green Hammer Coral Euphyllia H-EuBR Brown

Habitat B

Sample set A 1 3 2

Sample set B 2 3 1

Sample set C 2 1 3

Conclusion Quadrat Sampling • Just because there are the same number of total organisms and species in two areas does not mean that they have the same biodiversity. • Conclusion should be made once data is collected. The hypothesis analyzed and new hypothesis typically formed based on the data.

Earth is home to a tremendous diversity of species Ecosystem diversity- the variety of ecosystems within a given region. Species diversity- the variety of species in a given ecosystem. Genetic diversity- the variety of genes within a given species.

Niches Realized niche- the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species lives. This determines the species distribution, or areas of the world where it lives. Niche generalist- species that live under a wide range of conditions. Niche specialist- species that live only in specific habitats.

The Fossil Record Fossils- remains of organisms that have been preserved in rock. Much of what we know about evolution comes from the fossil record.

The Five Global Mass Extinctions Mass extinction- when large numbers of species went extinct over a relatively short period of time.

The Sixth Mass Extinction Scientists feel that we are in our sixth mass extinction, occurring in the last two decades. Estimates of extinction rates vary widely, from 2 % to 25% by 2020. In contrast to previous mass extinctions, scientists agree that this one is caused by humans.