Alternate Derivations of a Species-Abundance Relation
Cohen JE. 1968. Alternate Derivations of a Species-Abundance Relation. The American Naturalist. 102(924):165-172
Exactly the same numerical predictions of the average relative abundance of species that follow from MacArthur's (1957) "broken stick" model also follow from a "balls and boxes" model (Cohen, 1966) with a different set of assumptions. This paper presents a third model, the "exponential" model, leading to the same numerical predictions. The assumptions of this third model are nearly opposite to those of MacArthur's. The numerical data which have been taken to confirm the broken-stick model in fact confirm all three models equally. Hence, this paper describes some experimental and field observations which could discriminate among the available models.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Cohen, Joel
- Units
- LAKE
- Keywords
- Ecology, Statistical Analysis