Samples of benthic organisms off the coast of Oregon, taken
from depths varying from 50 to 2900 meters, have been analyzed in
terms of diversity at a given station, and similarity and ecological
distance to other stations. Estimates of epifauna abundance were
also made. In the analysis an important distinction is made between
diversity, abundance, and variety indices; the three measures are
considered independent pieces of information relevant to the ecological
structure of the population of interest.
Two types of sampling gear were used. Large epifauna were
sampled with a beam trawl. Polychaetous infauna were sampled with
an anchor-box dredge.
The diversity index chosen is Simpson's index; the measures
of similarity and ecological distance are related. These measures are preferred because of their ease in calculation and basic simplicity.
In addition these measures may be interpreted as estimates of well-defined
population parameters (as Simpson has pointed out) which have
straightforward probabilistic interpretation.
A valid measure of diversity is one piece of relevant information
necessary for elucidating the sufficient parameters of ecological
systems. Therefore the methodology presented has broad application
to studies of population structure. / Graduation date: 1970
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28926 |
| Date | 15 August 1969 |
| Creators | Stander, Jeffrey M. |
| Contributors | Carey, Andrew G. Jr |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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