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As Fungi Play Important Roles in Ecosystem Processes as Decomposers

question 31

Multiple Choice

As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline) . Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ; one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected:
Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n.d.) . Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186.
-In this frigid Antarctic region, there is a thin soil layer that defrosts during the year. However, the rest of the soil in the region, called permafrost, stays frozen. Which of the following characteristics would best help plants to survive in this soil-poor climate?

Definitions:

Prime Time

A period during which the largest number of viewers or listeners are tuned in to broadcasts, typically in the evening for television.

Categorical Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of three propositions: a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion, where each proposition involves a classification of things.

Middle Term

In syllogistic logic, it is the term that appears in both premises of a categorical syllogism but not in the conclusion, serving as a bridge between the major and minor terms.

Premises

Statements or reasons offered in support of a conclusion in an argument, serving as the foundation for the logical structure.