Question

Samson and Dorothy surveyed two islands, ‘A’ and ‘B’. They recorded the relevant data in the following format in their research folder:

	Parameter	Island A	Island B
(a)	Area (A)	45 × 103 Km2	12 × 105 Km2
(b)	Regression co-efficient (Z)	1	1
(c)	Y-intercept	20	10

1. Derive the species-richness for each island.
2. Which island exhibits greater biodiversity? Support your answer with a reason.

Answer 1

1. S = CA^Z
   

   Island 'A'	Island 'B'
   Sa = 20 × (45 × 103)1	Sb = 10 × (12 × 105)1	1 mark
   Sa = 900 × 103	Sb = 120 × 105	1 mark

2. Sb > Sa, therefore, species richness of Island ‘B’ is greater than that of Island ‘A’, because Island B has optimum environmental conditions, temperature, and higher productivity.