Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reef Fish Biodiversity In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Megan E. Hepner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biological diversity of reef-fish in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) from 1999 – 2016 was evaluated in terms of abundance, biomass, species richness, evenness, Shannon diversity, Simpson diversity, and functional diversity, using observations collected by multiple agencies and institutions under the Reef Visual Census (RVC) program. To compare the different diversity indices species richness, Shannon diversity, Simpson diversity, and functional diversity were converted into effective number of species. I examined the seven indices by no-take marine zones, in seven benthic habitat strata, and across the three-distinct geographic subregions in the Florida Keys domain (Upper, Middle, and Lower …