Questions from Ecology

Q: Melillo, Aber, and Muratore (1982) suggested that soil

Melillo, Aber, and Muratore (1982) suggested that soil fertility may influence the rate of decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Design an experiment to test this hypothesis. If you test for the ef...

Q: Many rivers around the world have been straightened and deepened to improve

Many rivers around the world have been straightened and deepened to improve conditions for navigation. Side effects of these changes include increased average water velocity and decreased movement of...

Q: Likens and Bormann (1995) found that vegetation substantially influences the

Likens and Bormann (1995) found that vegetation substantially influences the rate of nutrient loss from small stream catchments in the northern hardwood forest ecosystem. How do vegetative biomass and...

Q: McNaughton, Ruess, and Seagle (1988) proposed that grazing

McNaughton, Ruess, and Seagle (1988) proposed that grazing by large mammals increases the rate of nitrogen cycling on the savannas of East Africa. Explain how passing through a large mammal could incr...

Q: The fynbos of South Africa is famous for the exceptional diversity of

The fynbos of South Africa is famous for the exceptional diversity of its plant community. Witkowski (1991) showed that invading Acacia are enriching the fynbos soil with nitrogen. How might enriching...

Q: Kauffman and his colleagues (1993) estimated that burning the tropical

Kauffman and his colleagues (1993) estimated that burning the tropical forest at their study site resulted in the loss of approximately 21 kg per hectare of phosphorus. This quantity is about 11% to 1...

Q: If rates of decomposition are higher in ecosystems with higher nutrient availability

If rates of decomposition are higher in ecosystems with higher nutrient availability, how should nutrient enrichment affect rates of decomposition? Because of its effects on fungal diversity, could nu...

Q: Suppose you are a director of a captive breeding program for a

Suppose you are a director of a captive breeding program for a rare species of animal, such as Siberian tigers, which are found in many zoos around the world but are increasingly rare in the wild. Des...

Q: As we saw in figure  20.5, Johnston and Odum

As we saw in figure  20.5, Johnston and Odum (1956) documented substantial change in the richness of bird species in a successional sequence going from the earliest stages in which the pla...

Q: Would you expect the number of species to remain indefinitely at the

Would you expect the number of species to remain indefinitely at the level shown in figure 20.7? Space on large, stable boulders in Sousa’s study site is dominated by the...