The term gamma diversity (γ-diversity) was introduced by R. H. Whittaker together with the terms alpha diversity (α-diversity) and beta diversity (β-diversity). Whittaker's idea was that the total species diversity in a landscape (γ) is determined by two different things, the mean species diversity in sites or habitats at a more local scale (α) and the differentiation among those habitats (β). According to this reasoning, alpha diversity and beta diversity constitute independent components of gamma diversity:
Read more about Gamma Diversity: Scale Considerations, Different Gamma Diversity Concepts, Calculating Gamma Diversity
Famous quotes containing the word diversity:
“The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)