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Question
The relation between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa turns out to be a rectangular hyperbola. Give a brief explanation.
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Solution
During his pioneering and extensive explorations in the wilderness of South American jungles, the great German naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt observed that within a region species richness increased with the increasing explored area, but only up to a limit. In fact, the relation between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa (angiosperm plants, birds, bats, freshwater fishes) turns out to be a rectangular hyperbola.

Species area relationship
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RELATED QUESTIONS
The following graph shows the species-area relationship. Answer the following questions as directed.

(a) Name the naturalist who studied the kind of relationship shown in the graph. Write the observations made by him.
(b) Write the situations as discovered by the ecologists when the value of ‘Z’
(Slope of the line) lies between:
- 0.1 and 0.2
- 0.6 and 1.2
What does ‘Z’ stand for?
(c) When would the slope of the line ‘b’ become steeper?
What is the significance of the slope of regression in a species-area relationship?
Short answer type question
Tropical regions exhibit species richness as compared to polar regions. Justify.
Extent of global diversity of invertebrates is shown in the pie diagram below. Choose the most appropriate alternative that the four portions (a-d) represent.

In the equation: log S = log C + Z log A , S= species richness; Z = slope of line (regression coefficient); A = area; C = Y intercept. For smaller area, the value of Z ranges from ____________.
The graph of species richness and area for a number of taxa like angiospermic plants, freshwater fishes, and birds is found to be ______.
Oxygen dissociation curve for Myoglobin has the following shape:
Is it possible that productivity and diversity of a natural community remain constant over a time period of, say one hundred years?
There is greater biodiversity in tropical /subtropical regions than in temperate region. Explain.
Is it true that there is more solar energy available in the tropics? Explain briefly.
Species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles. What could be the possible reasons?
Given below is an equation describing the Species-Area relationship between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa as angiosperm plants, birds, bats etc. S = CAz
- Give a graphical representation of the given equation showing Species-Area relationship.
- What does 'S' represent in the given equation?
- What is the value of 'Z' (regression coefficient) for frugivorous birds and mammals in the tropical forests of different continents?
The species-area relationship is represented on a log scale as ______.
For frugivorous (fruit-eating) birds and mammals in the tropical forests of different continents, the slope of the species-area relationship is found to be approximately ______.
Which of the following hypothesis suggests that ecosystems are like aeroplanes where flight safety (ecosystem functioning) may or may not be compromised, depending upon which species are being lost?
Rivet Popper Hypothesis is an analogy to explain the significance of ______.
