The intermediate disturbance hypothesis states that a community experiencing an intermediate level of disturbance will have higher species diversity than it would with low or high disturbance.What is a major justification for this hypothesis?
A) Low disturbance would lead to more extinctions, high disturbance to competitive exclusion.
B) Low disturbance would lead to competitive exclusion, high disturbance to more extinctions.
C) Low disturbance would lead to reduced influence by the dominant species, high disturbance to more extinctions.
D) Low disturbance would lead to reduced influence by the dominant species, high disturbance to competitive exclusion.
E) Low disturbance would lead to higher mortality rates, high disturbance to reduced influence by the dominant species.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Low disturbance environments typically allow dominant species to outcompete other species leading to reduced species diversity. On the other hand, high disturbance environments usually lead to increased mortality rates and decreased species diversity. However, intermediate levels of disturbance disrupt the dominance hierarchy, creating opportunities for less competitive species to survive and reproduce, leading to higher species diversity compared to low and high disturbance environments. Therefore, the major justification for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis is that low disturbance would result in competitive exclusion, and high disturbance would cause more extinctions.

The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis States That a Community Experiencing an Intermediate