Question Description
ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT (BIOL 354) – Fall 2018
Connell (1978) Questions for Discussion
- Describe the equal chance hypothesis in your own words (2 pts)
- Explain why, according to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, diversity declines when disturbance occurs too frequently or not frequently enough (2 pts)
- Describe the methods presented for testing the niche-diversification hypothesis, and the potential limitations (2 pts).
- Is it possible that more than one hypothesis is correct? Why? (2 pts)
- Describe how the intermediate hypothesis applies to coral reefs and tropical forests. (2 pts).
- What are other hypotheses for why there is greater diversity in tropical rainforests and coral reefs? (2 pts)
- Explain the importance of the “edges” of disturbance. How do the species on the edges contribute to recovery from a disturbance? (2 pts)
- Do you think Connell’s hypotheses apply to less diverse ecosystems such as the Arctic or deep ocean? Explain. (2 pts)
- Which of these hypotheses, if any, can be applied to motile (non-sessile) organisms? How would the ability to move affect the overall diversity? (2 pts).
- Write out the citation for this journal article using the format of the journal Ecology (2 pts).