Beta diversity

Overview

Teaching: 0 min
Exercises: 0 min

Questions

• What is beta diversity and how do I calculate it?

• How can I plot beta diversity and interpret the results?

Objectives

• Understand what beta diversity means from an ecology standpoint

• Understand the most common methods of beta diversity calculations, including their relative strengths and weaknesses

• Be able to plot beta diversity and interpret the results

• Be able to perform cluster analysis on beta diversity and interpret the results

Exercise: Describe what Beta Diversity means from an ecology standpoint. (In an Etherpad?) Exercise: Calculate beta diversity using Bray-Curtis ordination and plot Exercise: Calculate beta diversity with Weighted/Unweighted Unifrac and NMDS and plot. Explain the differences amongn them Exercise: Perform cluster analysis on the above beta diversities to identify clusters in the data

Key Points

• Beta diversity measures the diversity between samples in a dataset

• The most common beta diversity measures are Bray-Curtis, Weighted/Unweighted Unifrac, and NMDS

• Beta diversity is usually displayed as a principal coordinates plot

• Cluster analysis can identify groups of samples, but care must be taken to be sure the groups are meaningful