Relative species abundance

Definition

Relative species abundance refers to the proportion of each species within an ecological community. It indicates how common or rare a species is relative to other species in the same environment.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Relative species abundance is a key measure for understanding biodiversity in an ecosystem.
2. It helps ecologists determine which species are dominant and which are rare within a community.
3. High relative abundance of a few species and low abundance of many others often indicates an imbalance in the ecosystem.
4. This metric can be visualized through rank-abundance curves, which plot the relative abundance against the rank of each species.
5. Changes in relative species abundance can signal shifts in environmental conditions or impacts from human activities.

Review Questions

• What does relative species abundance tell us about an ecological community?
• How can ecologists visualize relative species abundance for easier interpretation?
• Why is it important to monitor changes in relative species abundance over time?

Related terms

Species Richness: The number of different species present in an ecological community.

Biodiversity Index: A quantitative measure that reflects how many different types of organisms are present in a community.

Dominant Species: Species that have a high relative abundance and exert significant influence on the structure and function of their ecosystem.