Enter the number of species, total individuals, or detailed species information into the calculator to determine the Shannon-Wiener Index.
Shannon-Wiener Index Calculation Formula
The following formula is used to calculate the Shannon-Wiener Index.
H' = -Σ (p_i * ln(p_i))
Variables:
- H’ is the Shannon-Wiener Index
- p_i is the proportion of the i-th species
To calculate the Shannon-Wiener Index, you sum the products of each species’ proportion and the natural logarithm of that proportion, then take the negative of that sum.
What is the Shannon-Wiener Index?
The Shannon-Wiener Index is a measure of biodiversity that accounts for both the abundance and the evenness of species present in a community. It is widely used in ecological studies to quantify the diversity of an ecosystem. A higher Shannon-Wiener Index value indicates greater diversity, meaning that the ecosystem has a more even distribution of species.
How to Calculate the Shannon-Wiener Index?
The following steps outline how to calculate the Shannon-Wiener Index using the given formula.
- First, determine the total number of individuals in the community.
- Next, identify the number of individuals for each species.
- Calculate the proportion (p_i) of each species by dividing the number of individuals of that species by the total number of individuals.
- Use the formula from above: H’ = -Σ (p_i * ln(p_i)).
- Sum the products of each species’ proportion and the natural logarithm of that proportion, then take the negative of that sum to get the Shannon-Wiener Index.
- Check your answer with the calculator above.