Which of the following hypotheses support the basic principle of the species-area relationship? Check all that apply.

Question

_____  Large areas have greater habitat diversity than small areas.
_____  Organisms are less likely to go extinct in larger areas than smaller areas.
_____  Larger areas receive more colonists than smaller areas.
_____  Smaller areas have greater concentrations of resources then larger areas.


Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
· What type of thinking is required?
 
Gather Content
· What do you already know about species richness?
 
Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
 
Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

__X__  Large areas have greater habitat diversity than small areas.
__X__  Organisms are less likely to go extinct in larger areas than smaller areas.
__X__  Larger areas receive more colonists than smaller areas.
_____  Smaller areas have greater concentrations of resources then larger areas.


Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o This question addresses species richness.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o This question is asking youto weigh and judge evidence, or evaluate, to choose the best of the possible answers.
 
Gather Content
· What do you already know about species richness?
        o The species-area relationship states that larger islands contain more species than do smaller islands. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this relationship.
        o First, larger areas have more habitat diversity and therefore harbor mores species (the habitat diversity hypothesis).
        o The second hypothesis states that species persist longer in larger habitats (the area per se hypothesis).
        o The third hypothesis states that larger areas are more likely to receive more colonists representing a greater diversity of organisms (the passive sampling hypothesis).
        o Finally, the resource-concentration hypothesis states that larger areas have more abundant resources and therefore will support a greater number of species.
 
Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o Do large areas have greater habitat diversity than small areas? Yes.
        o Are organisms less likely to go extinct in larger areas than smaller areas? Yes.
        o Do larger areas receive more colonists than smaller areas? Yes.
        o Do smaller areas have greater concentrations of resources then larger areas? No! Larger areas are likely to have more resources.
 
Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o The question required you to weigh and judge evidence, or evaluate, to choose the best of the possible answers.
        o Did you recognize that larger areas tend to support more species for several reasons?