An index for assessing the rare species of a community
Rarity has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of fields. A method to classify rare species should be simple and easy for different professional groups to learn. Rabinowitz is not only easy-to-follow but also one of the most accepted methods to classify rare species. This study pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21000893 |
| _version_ | 1818461082156531712 |
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| author | Everton A. Maciel |
| author_facet | Everton A. Maciel |
| author_sort | Everton A. Maciel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rarity has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of fields. A method to classify rare species should be simple and easy for different professional groups to learn. Rabinowitz is not only easy-to-follow but also one of the most accepted methods to classify rare species. This study proposes a rarity index (rr) based on Rabinowitz’s scheme. The index operates at the species level. Given a list of n species, the inverse of the geographical range in decimal degree (geographic range index – gri) of the maximum number of species habitats (habitat specificity index – hsi), and the maximum population size anywhere (population size index – psi) were calculated for each species. An average index rr = med(gri + hsi + psi) was calculated for each species from the gri, hsi, and psi indexes. The rr varies from 0 to 1: the closer rr is to 1, the rarer the species. A code in the R language to calculate each proposed measure is provided. The output of this code is a list of species with their respective indices. RR is useful in the ecology and biodiversity conservation fields. This index has the following advantages: (1) it uses three aspects of rarity to gain a synthetic index; (2) the three parameters have equal weights; and (3) it is easily followed by anyone who feels inclined to use it. Some directions on how it might be used are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:40:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e66bf0845a5454ab1d6897c9ca6fab3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:40:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e66bf0845a5454ab1d6897c9ca6fab32022-12-21T22:43:31ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2021-05-01124107424An index for assessing the rare species of a communityEverton A. Maciel0Institute of Biology, Monteiro Lobato St, 255/Block M, University of Campinas – UNICAMP, 13.083-862 Campinas, SP, BrazilRarity has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of fields. A method to classify rare species should be simple and easy for different professional groups to learn. Rabinowitz is not only easy-to-follow but also one of the most accepted methods to classify rare species. This study proposes a rarity index (rr) based on Rabinowitz’s scheme. The index operates at the species level. Given a list of n species, the inverse of the geographical range in decimal degree (geographic range index – gri) of the maximum number of species habitats (habitat specificity index – hsi), and the maximum population size anywhere (population size index – psi) were calculated for each species. An average index rr = med(gri + hsi + psi) was calculated for each species from the gri, hsi, and psi indexes. The rr varies from 0 to 1: the closer rr is to 1, the rarer the species. A code in the R language to calculate each proposed measure is provided. The output of this code is a list of species with their respective indices. RR is useful in the ecology and biodiversity conservation fields. This index has the following advantages: (1) it uses three aspects of rarity to gain a synthetic index; (2) the three parameters have equal weights; and (3) it is easily followed by anyone who feels inclined to use it. Some directions on how it might be used are discussed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21000893RabinowitzRarity indexConservation biologyEcology indexRare species |
| spellingShingle | Everton A. Maciel An index for assessing the rare species of a community Ecological Indicators Rabinowitz Rarity index Conservation biology Ecology index Rare species |
| title | An index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| title_full | An index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| title_fullStr | An index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| title_full_unstemmed | An index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| title_short | An index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| title_sort | index for assessing the rare species of a community |
| topic | Rabinowitz Rarity index Conservation biology Ecology index Rare species |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21000893 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evertonamaciel anindexforassessingtherarespeciesofacommunity AT evertonamaciel indexforassessingtherarespeciesofacommunity |