Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

What is Biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Diversity of Protists II

Diversity of Protists II

Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...

Diversity of Protists IV

Diversity of Protists IV

Amoebozoa represent a diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic protists that utilize lobe-shaped pseudopodia for locomotion and feeding. This characteristic differentiates them from the Rhizaria, which possess threadlike pseudopodia. The primary classifications within Amoebozoa include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and the plasmodial and cellular slime molds. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Amoebozoa diverged from a lineage that ultimately gave rise to fungi and animals.Gymnamoebas and...

Diversity of Protists III

Diversity of Protists III

Rhizaria are a diverse group of unicellular protists characterized by their threadlike cytoplasmic extensions known as pseudopodia. These structures aid in both locomotion and feeding, giving Rhizaria an amoeboid appearance. Their amoeboid morphology once led to taxonomic confusion, but molecular phylogenetics has clarified their evolutionary placement and emphasized their shared use of pseudopodia despite divergent lineages.This clade comprises diverse lineages such as Chlorarachniophyta,...

What is an Ecosystem?

What is an Ecosystem?

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

More than the sum of the parts: annual partitioning within spatial guilds underpins community regulation.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2018

Same author

Relationship between evenness and body size in species rich assemblages.

Biology letters·2013

Same author

Local and regional rarity in a diverse tropical fish assemblage.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2012

Same author

Measuring richness and evenness.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2011

Same author

Effects of polyandry on male phenotypic diversity.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2010

Same author

The effect of social environment during ontogeny on life history expression in the guppy Poecilia reticulata.

Journal of fish biology·2010

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2026

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems

Published on: July 30, 2019

Biological diversity of fish communities: pattern and process.

A E Magurran¹, S Khachonpisitsak, A B Ahmad

¹School of Biology, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB Fife, UK. aem1@st-andrews.ac.uk

Journal of Fish Biology

|December 6, 2011

Summary

Ecologists study fish communities to understand biodiversity patterns, like common and rare species. Research on fish assemblages offers insights into ecological communities and conservation needs.

More Related Videos

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Published on: January 13, 2023

Development of New Methods for Quantifying Fish Density Using Underwater Stereo-video Tools

Development of New Methods for Quantifying Fish Density Using Underwater Stereo-video Tools

Published on: November 20, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems

Published on: July 30, 2019

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Published on: January 13, 2023

Development of New Methods for Quantifying Fish Density Using Underwater Stereo-video Tools

Development of New Methods for Quantifying Fish Density Using Underwater Stereo-video Tools

Published on: November 20, 2017

Area of Science:

Ecology
Ichthyology
Conservation Biology

Background:

Ecologists have long sought to explain biodiversity patterns, such as the commonness and rarity of species.
Understanding these patterns is critical due to accelerating biodiversity loss.
Fish communities, despite their diversity and wide habitat range, remain understudied in this context.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight how studying fish assemblages can illuminate fundamental ecological patterns.
To identify key research questions for future fish community investigations.
To emphasize the need for integrating ecological research with conservation practices.

Main Methods:

Review of ecological concepts applied to fish communities.
Identification of researchable topics within fish assemblage studies.
Case study analysis of a biodiverse region (Thailand and Peninsula Malaysia).

Main Results:

Fish community studies can elucidate community characteristics and the role of dispersal limitation.
Investigating fish can clarify the distinction between core and occasional species.
Evaluating abundance in different currencies and assessing community capacity are valuable approaches.

Conclusions:

Fish assemblages offer a powerful model system for understanding ecological community structure and processes.
Future research should address specific questions regarding fish community dynamics.
Effective conservation requires stronger links between ecological research and practical application, as exemplified by the Thailand and Peninsula Malaysia case study.