You Have Counted the Number of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Same

question 33

Multiple Choice

You have counted the number of amphibians and reptiles in the same experimental 1 km by 1 km area over the last five years.You also have a control plot of the same size nearby that is part of your sampling each year.Every year you have reviewed your data to understand which species were common or rare,and whether equal numbers of individuals were counted in those categories.What your data show is that in the experimental plot more species become rare to encounter and a large percentage of species that you do encounter tends to be more common from year one to year five.However,this is not the case in the control plot,which shows no change from year one to year five.You now plan to plot these data for a presentation.You now plan to plot these data for a presentation.What will a graph of rank-abundance for the control and non-control plots look like?

• A) It will show species rank on the x axis and relative abundance on the y axis. The trend lines for each will be flat.
• B) The graph will show a flat trend line for the control plot and a steep trend line for the non-control plot.
• C) There are not enough data to determine what the graph will look like.
• D) The graph will show a very steep line in the experimental plot by the end of year five and a much less steep line for the control plot for all five years.

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