What is the Difference Between Alpha Beta and Gamma Diversity?Īlpha diversity measures the species diversity in an ecosystem while beta diversity measures the change in species diversity mainly between two communities or two ecosystems. Habitat fragmentation is one of the reasons for the loss of biodiversity.All three types are very important in the context of monitoring and preserving biodiversity.Alpha, beta, and gamma diversity are three terms that measure biodiversity based on the special scale.What are the Similarities Between Alpha Beta and Gamma Diversity? Mass extinction in places around the world is one of the main reasons for decreased gamma diversity. Today, we can observe a decline in gamma diversity all over the world. Therefore, the beta diversity between the two ecosystems is 10.įigure 02: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma BiodiversityĬompared to alpha and beta diversity, gamma diversity is a very large scale measure. Ecosystem A may have 8 unique species which are not seen in ecosystem B, while ecosystem B has 2 unique species that are not seen in ecosystem A. For example, if the beta diversity between ecosystem A and ecosystem B is 10, it tells us that there are a total of 10 species that are unique between two ecosystems. In beta diversity, the number of species that are unique to each system is counted. Hence, beta diversity allows the comparison of biodiversity between ecosystems. What is Beta Diversity?īeta diversity is the term that refers to the change in species diversity between communities or ecosystems. The species we see along the transect is counted, and the number of species is taken. Species richness can be measured through a transect drawn within the ecosystem.
Species richness is a valuable measure when compared to species diversity within different ecosystems. It is a small scale measure compared to beta and gamma diversity. Therefore, alpha diversity gives us species richness in that particular ecosystem. Alpha diversity is expressed as the number of species present in the area of concern. Summary – Alpha vs Beta vs Gamma Diversity What is Alpha Diversity?Īlpha diversity is a measure of species diversity in a particular area or an ecosystem. Alpha vs Beta vs Gamma Diversity in Tabular Formħ. Similarities – Alpha Beta and Gamma DiversityĦ. Gamma diversity measures biodiversity in a large region. Beta diversity describes species diversity between communities or ecosystems. Alpha diversity describes species diversity in an ecosystem. Whittaker explained all these three terms. Alpha, beta and gamma diversity are three types of biodiversity measures described over a special scale. It measures the variation at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. In other words, it refers to the variety of life on Earth.
The key difference between alpha beta and gamma diversity is that alpha diversity measures the diversity of a particular area or an ecosystem, usually by expressing the species richness or the number of species, while beta diversity measures the diversity between ecosystems by measuring the species change between ecosystems and gamma diversity measures the overall diversity across a large geographic region.īiodiversity is the variability among living organisms on Earth.
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