Diversity: its measurement, decomposition, apportionment and analysis

Two general methods of obtaining measures of diversity within a population are discussed. One is based on an intrinsic notion of dissimilarity between individuals and the other makes use of the concepts of entropy. Some examples are given of the decomposition of diversity within a population in terms of given or conceptual factors. Methods for apportionment of diversity in a hierarchically classified set of populations are discussed. The concept of analysis of diversity as a generalization of analysis of variance is developed for populations classified by combinations of different levels of chosen factors.