A typical grassland is inhabited by many species of plants which all live close
ID: 78369 • Letter: A
Question
A typical grassland is inhabited by many species of plants which all live close to one another and use the same resources from the soil. One of the most important soil resources is nitrogen. Researchers have recently discovered that different types of plants prefer to absorb different forms of nitrogen from the soil (Ecology 87(5): 1244). Grasses absorb substantial amounts of ammonium, a nitrogen-containing compound, while small herb plants prefer to nitrate, a different nitrogen containing compound. With which of the following statements is an ecologist most likely to agree?
The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil leads to reduced species diversity in the grassland because each type of plant only gets a fraction of the nitrogen as it needs..
The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil will eventually result in the extinction of many plant species in the grassland because they will not get enough food.
All of the plant species would be just as successful if they were competing for nitrogen resources instead of partitioning them.
The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil is likely to help an invasive plant species to become established in the grassland because the invasive plant species could use either ammonium or nitrate.
The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil supports greater species diversity in the grassland because there are more niches.
A.The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil leads to reduced species diversity in the grassland because each type of plant only gets a fraction of the nitrogen as it needs..
B.The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil will eventually result in the extinction of many plant species in the grassland because they will not get enough food.
C.All of the plant species would be just as successful if they were competing for nitrogen resources instead of partitioning them.
D.The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil is likely to help an invasive plant species to become established in the grassland because the invasive plant species could use either ammonium or nitrate.
E.The partitioning of nitrogen resources in the soil supports greater species diversity in the grassland because there are more niches.
Explanation / Answer
Answer
Option E is the right answer because the partitioning of nitrogen resource in the soil supports greater species diversity in the grassland since there is more niche in the given space. So by partitioning of the resource can reduce the competition which helps in maintaining the diversity.
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