Marc Dufrêne

This paper presents a new and simple method to find indicator species and species assemblages characterizing groups of sites. The novelty of our approach lies in the way we combine a species relative abundance with its relative frequency of occurrence in the various groups of sites. This index is maximum when all individuals of a species are found in a single group of sites and when the species occurs in all sites of that group; it is a symmetric indicator. The statistical significance of the species indicator values is evaluated using a randomization procedure. Contrary to Twinspan, our indicator index for a given species is independent of the other species relative abundances, and there is no need to use pseudospecies. The new method identifies indicator species for typologies of species relevés obtained by any hierarchical or nonhierarchical classification procedure; its use is independent of the classification method. Because indicator species give ecological meaning to groups of sites, this method provides criteria to compare typologies, to identify where to stop dividing clusters into subsets, and to point out the main levels in a hierarchical classification of sites. Species can be grouped on the basis of their indicator values for each clustering level, the heterogeneous nature of species assemblages observed in any one site being well preserved. Such assemblages are usually a mixture of eurytopic (higher level) and stenotopic species (characteristic of lower level clusters). The species assemblage approach demonstrates the importance of the “sampled patch size,” i.e., the diversity of sampled ecological combinations, when we compare the frequencies of core and satellite species. A new way to present species–site tables, accounting for the hierarchical relationships among species, is proposed. A large data set of carabid beetle distributions in open habitats of Belgium is used as a case study to illustrate the new method.

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) This paper presents a new and simple method to find indicator species and species assemblages characterizing groups of sites. The novelty of our approach lies in the way we combine a species relative abundance with its relative frequency of occurrence in the various groups of sites. This index is maximum when all individuals of a species are found in a single group of sites and when the species occurs in all sites of that group; it is a symmetric indicator. The statistical significance of the species indicator values is evaluated using a randomization procedure. Contrary to TWINSPAN, our indicator index for a given species is independent of the other species relative abundances, and there is no need to use pseudospecies.

Abstract: We examined six groups of taxa—woody plants, aquatic and terrestrial herpetofauna, small terrestrial birds, orchids, and Orthoptera—to determine their efficiency as biodiversity indicators in the Dadia Reserve in northern Greece. We investigated the indicator value of each group by examining the degree of congruence of its species‐richness pattern with that of the other groups and the efficiency of its complementary network in conserving the other groups and biodiversity. The two techniques differed in many respects in their outputs, but they both showed woody plants as the best biodiversity indicator. There was in general low congruence in the species richness patterns across the different groups. Significant relationships were found between woody plants and birds, Orthoptera and terrestrial herpetofauna, and birds and aquatic herpetofauna. None of the optimal complementary networks of the groups we examined protected all species of the other groups. Nevertheless, the complementary network of woody plants adequately conserved all groups except orchids. We conclude that the principle of complementarity must be integrated into the methodology of evaluating an indicator. In an applied context, our results provide a scientific background on which to base a biomonitoring program for the Dadia Reserve. In a wider scope, if the group of woody plants prove an adequate biodiversity indicator for other Mediterranean areas as well, this will be important because it will facilitate conservation‐related decisions for the entire Mediterranean region.