H’ (Shannon-Wiener diversity index)

The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) is a mathematical measure used to quantify how diverse a community is, considering both the number of different species and how evenly individuals are spread among them. A higher H’ value indicates a more diverse community with many species and a balanced distribution, while a lower H’ suggests fewer species or dominance by a few. It helps ecologists understand ecosystem health and stability by capturing the complexity of biological diversity in a single number.