Application of species-richness estimators for the assessment of earthworm diversity

Abstract

This paper includes the current knowledge of earthworm distribution and richness in the central part of the Balkans, in the state of Serbia. The work is based on data obtained from fieldwork in the western part of Serbia. The aim is to follow a methodological and theoretical framework for the application of species-richness estimators in earthworm biodiversity research. We have evaluated the performance of various estimation techniques to assess the different species-richness estimators in EstimateS. The following estimators (EstimateS 8.2) were used to extrapolate species richness beyond our own data: ACE, ICE, Chao 1, Chao 2, Jackknife 1, Jackknife 2, Bootstrap, and Michaelis–Menten richness estimator. The Chao 2 and Jackknife 2 richness estimators were considered most appropriate to predict the number of earthworm species and can serve to provide a quantitative basis for assessing long-term changes in species richness.

Keywords:

• species-richness estimators
• species-accumulation curves
• earthworms
• diversity
• Serbia

Acknowledgements

We would like to kindly thank Robert Colwell for enabling the use of EstimatorS 8.2. This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (Grant No. 41010).