LOG-NORMALITY OF BIODIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE IN DIAGNOSIS AND MEASURING OF ECOSYSTEMIC HEALTH - PESTICIDE STRESS ON POLLINATORS ON BLUEBERRYHEATHS

1. When considered together, the diversity and abundance of biological ly similar organisms (e.g. pollinators) within a community, are more p owerful in assessing the effects of disruption than when taken separat ely. The log-normal model of abundance and diversity is illustrated as a tool in applied ecology. 2. Data were collected from sampling polli nating bees over 8 years in 13 blueberry fields in New Brunswick, Cana da. These data were used to test the log-normality of the species dive rsity and abundance relationships with respect to the disruption of co mmunities by applications of the insecticide fenitrothion to nearby fo rests. 3. Ecosystemic integrity (health) of the lowbush blueberry fiel ds was assessed by using species diversity and abundance in Sugihara's (1980) sequential breakage model. This model was used to test the log -normality of data sets from fields which were affected and unaffected by fenitrothion. 4. On both spatial and temporal bases, fields unaffe cted by the pesticide fitted well to the log-normal model of species d iversity and abundance, whereas affected fields departed from that pat tern. Thus, the relationship is useful because the samples from fields affected by fenitrothion presumably represent compromised integrity a nd decline in ecosystemic health. 5. Shannon-Wiener's hierarchical div ersity indices and Jaccard's indices of similarity were found to have little value in measuring ecosystemic health. For the former, none of the indices calculated showed any difference between communities with a lognormal pattern of species diversity and abundance, and those with out it. Jaccard's index of similarity was low and similar in all the c ases. 6. In general, ecosystemic health should not be narrowly assesse d through biodiversity but must include taxonomic and population chang es together. The log-normal relationship linking species diversity and abundance is an objective standard against which applied ecologists c an test ecosystemic integrity, disruption, health, ill-health, and rec onstitution.