{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.relative-species-abundance","code":"thing-q3738459","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q3738459/","name":"relative species abundance","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.REL"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The proportion of individuals or biomass in a community that belongs to each species, describing how common or rare species are relative to one another, typically showing a few abundant and many rare species, summarised by rank-abundance curves and models such as log-series, log-normal and neutral distributions; relative species abundance is a core descriptor of community structure in ecology and underlies diversity indices and conservation assessment.","purpose":"Let an agent explain relative species abundance and how it is measured and modelled, describe its patterns and their explanations with attribution, support calculating diversity indices, and support ecology learning.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Relative proportions","Rank-abundance curves","Models of distribution","Basis of diversity indices"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What relative abundance is.","layers":[{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"Concept and patterns.","findings":[{"id":"concept-finding","name":"Concept","description":"Concept.","questions":[{"text":"What is relative species abundance, and why do most communities show few common and many rare species?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which community or measure is meant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"models","name":"Models","description":"Models.","findings":[{"id":"models-finding","name":"Models","description":"Models.","questions":[{"text":"What do log-series, log-normal and neutral models propose, and how do they compare, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which findings are contested?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"measure","name":"Measure","description":"Measurement and analysis.","layers":[{"id":"sampling","name":"Sampling","description":"Sampling.","findings":[{"id":"sampling-finding","name":"Sampling","description":"Sampling.","questions":[{"text":"How is relative abundance sampled and estimated in the field, and what biases arise?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which entry fits ecological sampling?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"indices","name":"Indices","description":"Diversity indices.","findings":[{"id":"indices-finding","name":"Indices","description":"Indices.","questions":[{"text":"How are diversity and evenness indices calculated from relative abundances?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits biodiversity indices?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"apply","name":"Apply","description":"Applications.","layers":[{"id":"conservation","name":"Conservation","description":"Conservation.","findings":[{"id":"conservation-finding","name":"Conservation","description":"Conservation.","questions":[{"text":"How is relative abundance used in conservation assessment and monitoring change?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits biodiversity monitoring?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"theory","name":"Theory","description":"Community ecology.","findings":[{"id":"theory-finding","name":"Theory","description":"Theory.","questions":[{"text":"What do abundance patterns reveal about competition, niches and neutral processes?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits community ecology?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the study of abundance distributions develop from Fisher and Preston to neutral theory?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can relative abundance be taught with field data?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain relative species abundance and rank-abundance curves.","Compute relative abundance from survey data, stating the sampling method.","Describe models such as log-series and neutral theory with attribution."],"mustNot":["Present relative abundance as absolute population size.","Overinterpret a model fit as proof of a mechanism.","Ignore sampling bias in survey data.","Publish locations of rare species in ways that expose them to collectors."],"requiresHuman":["Using abundance data in conservation or land-use decisions."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Rare species can be overlooked by misused statistics.","Publishing locations of rare species can harm them."],"affectedParties":["Rare species","Ecologists","Conservation planners"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: an ecological measure held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q17547084","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"abundance","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"natural region","type":"related","note":"communities compared across regions"},{"target":"biological selection","type":"related","note":"processes shaping abundance"},{"target":"nature conservation","type":"related","note":"assessment of communities"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.relative-species-abundance","Wikidata: Q3738459 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3738459)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Proportion of each species in a community","Few common, many rare species","Species richness counts species; absolute abundance counts individuals","Not physical; a distribution."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the concept","describe patterns and models","support calculations","support learning"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Sampling bias","Overinterpreting model fits","Confusing relative and absolute abundance"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Ecological survey standards","Biodiversity monitoring protocols","No regulation of the concept"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Proportions of species in a community.","relative abundance by individuals","relative abundance by biomass","rank-abundance curves","log-series and log-normal models","neutral theory models"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q3738459: relative species abundance","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3738459","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Relative species abundance","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_species_abundance","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should diversity indices be a separate entry?","How should monitoring datasets be linked?","How should model literature be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q3738459/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q3738459/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T05:47:46Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}