Abstract
Different ways of obtaining information about minimal area are studied. The classical species-area curve lacks objectivity. Curves based on similarity indices are objective, in so far that a critical threshold can be defined, where one admits that the minimal area is reached. Comparison is made between Sørensen's qualitative similarity index (based on presence-absence) and Kulczynski's quantitative similarity index (based on numbers of individuals and/or percent cover). In the shallowwater rocky habitats studied, two types of community were distinguished. The first, miniaturized communities are found in dark caves. Their minimal area is about 4,000 cm2. The second, coarser, communities occur on open rocks, either horizontal, sloping or vertical. Their minimal area is 20,000 cm2. Calculations were based mainly on Octocorallia (Coelenterata) which are assumed to be characteristic of the community as a whole.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
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Weinberg, S. The minimal area problem in invertebrate communities of Mediterranean rocky substrata. Mar. Biol. 49, 33–40 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390728
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390728