Ecology 6th Edition by Charles Krebs

Exercise 10

Marine algae along the west coast of North America do not increase in species richness toward the tropics but peak at about 70 species per 100 km of coastline around 40°N latitude (Gaines and Lubchenco 1982). Along die east coast of North America, species richness gradually increases as you move toward the tropics. Discuss why these patterns might hold.