Can someone please tell me how to read diversity indices?

Question

With shannon-wiener and brillouins indices is the lower number the more diverse, or the higher number? For example, if I had values of 1.61, 1.81, 1.93, 2.1, 1.68 which is most diverse on the brillouins index?

if i had1.1437

1.5464

1.5609

1.6628

0.4740

on the shannon wiener which would be the most diverse? Please help i am most confused!!!

Answer 1

With both the Brillouin and Shannon indices, the more diverse, the higher the number. Incidently, the numbers you gave as examples all indicate highly-stressed populations. So far as I know, only the Simpson index runs the other way, with higher numbers indicating lower diversity.

BTW, Wiener did not develop the index you credit him with. Shannon only acknowledged his work in information theory as a starting point for his own work.