Final answer:
Species concepts determine independence based on regular occurrence and shared evolutionary traits. In statistics, a chi-square test is used to determine independence. In conservation biology, multiple working hypotheses and Bayesian methods are used for comparing biodiversity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Species concepts use different criteria to determine that independence is in effect. One criterion is based on the regular occurrence of a significant proportion of the global population of a species at a site. This criterion recognizes various situations, such as restricted range species, clumped distributions, congregatory populations, source populations, and biome-restricted assemblages.
Another criterion takes into account shared evolutionary traits among species when making cross-species comparisons. Because species are related hierarchically according to their phylogeny, their relationships should be considered in determining independence.