Assessing Changes in Community Structure by Dominance Indices: A Comparative Analysis

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Abstract
We compared the sensitivity of four dominance indices to variations in freshwater macroinverterbrate community structure. Three types of simulations generated variations in communities mat could be expected to be found in fieldwork, on rare, median and dominant taxa. Camargo index was the most sensitive to change in rare taxa and the least sensitive to change in dominant taxa. Berger-Parker and Simpson measures were strongly influenced by sample size. McIntosh and Simpson indices were strongly correlated but did not have the same sensitivity. We think that the McIntosh index is the best compromise between a strong sensitivity to dominant taxa and a lesser sensitivity to variations in the other taxa.