TY  - JOUR
A1  - Morris, E. Kathryn
A1  - Caruso, Tancredi
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Hancock, Christine
A1  - Maier, Tanja S.
A1  - Meiners, Torsten
A1  - Müller, Caroline
A1  - Obermaier, Elisabeth
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Sonnemann, Ilja
A1  - Wäschke, Nicola
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Wurst, Susanne
A1  - Rillig, Matthias C.
T1  - Choosing and using diversity indices: insights for ecological applications from the German Biodiversity Exploratories
JF  - Ecology and Evolution
N2  - Biodiversity, a multidimensional property of natural systems, is difficult to quantify partly because of the multitude of indices proposed for this purpose. Indices aim to describe general properties of communities that allow us to compare different regions, taxa, and trophic levels. Therefore, they are of fundamental importance for environmental monitoring and conservation, although there is no consensus about which indices are more appropriate and informative. We tested several common diversity indices in a range of simple to complex statistical analyses in order to determine whether some were better suited for certain analyses than others. We used data collected around the focal plant Plantago lanceolata on 60 temperate grassland plots embedded in an agricultural landscape to explore relationships between the common diversity indices of species richness (S), Shannon's diversity (H'), Simpson's diversity (D-1), Simpson's dominance (D-2), Simpson's evenness (E), and Berger-Parker dominance (BP). We calculated each of these indices for herbaceous plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, aboveground arthropods, belowground insect larvae, and P.lanceolata molecular and chemical diversity. Including these trait-based measures of diversity allowed us to test whether or not they behaved similarly to the better studied species diversity. We used path analysis to determine whether compound indices detected more relationships between diversities of different organisms and traits than more basic indices. In the path models, more paths were significant when using H', even though all models except that with E were equally reliable. This demonstrates that while common diversity indices may appear interchangeable in simple analyses, when considering complex interactions, the choice of index can profoundly alter the interpretation of results. Data mining in order to identify the index producing the most significant results should be avoided, but simultaneously considering analyses using multiple indices can provide greater insight into the interactions in a system.
KW  - molecular diversity
KW  - plant diversity
KW  - plantago lanceolata
KW  - shannon index
KW  - simpson's index
KW  - arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
KW  - Hill's powers
KW  - chemical diversity
KW  - Berger-Parker
KW  - arthropods
Y1  - 2014
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115462
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 4
IS  - 18
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heisswolf, Annette
A1  - Gabler, Dirk
A1  - Obermaier, Elisabeth
A1  - Müller, Caroline
T1  - Olfactory versus contact cues in host plant recognition of a monophagous chrysomelid beetle
N2  - The importance of olfactory versus contact cues for host plant recognition was investigated in the tortoise beetle Cassida canaliculata Laich. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), which is strictly monophagous on meadow sage. The reaction of adult beetles to olfactory and contact host cues was tested using three bioassays (locomotion compensator, six-chamber-olfactometer, stem arena') to account for different behavioral contexts. Bioassay-guided fractionation of plant extracts was elaborated to characterize the nature of contact stimuli. The beetles were only slightly attracted to odors from small amounts of leaf material. However, when contact cues were provided additionally, the beetles showed strong preferences for samples of their host plant over controls. Bioassay-guided fractionation led to isolation of at least two non-polar contact stimuli acting in concert that are sufficient for host plant identification in C. canaliculata.
KW  - Insekt
KW  - Verhalten
KW  - Locomotion compensator
KW  - olfactometer
KW  - bioassay-guided fractionation
KW  - stem arena
KW  - host recognition
Y1  - 2007
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-49475
ER  -