An Investigation into Species Diversity essays

An Investigation into Species Diversity essays An Investigation into Species Diversity at Lake Alice, Florida; The Effect of Island Size and The Impact of Human Disturbance on Species Number and Diversity The main objective of this investigation is to determine the effect of island size and human disturbance on the diversity and general population size of birds living in and around Lake Alice. The null hypotheses for this experiment would suggest that (i) human disturbance does not have a detrimental impact on species number or diversity in Lake Alice and (ii) Island size does not effect in any way the number or diversity of birds in Lake Alice. Binoculars were used to locate and record individual species type and frequency over twenty minutes. A human count was also taken to show disturbance (if any). A tape measure was also used to measure the approximate size of each island and its distance from the shoreline. The results collected disproved the null hypothesis; showing that human disturbance (in terms of people number and distance from the shoreline) did in most cases lead to a decrease in species number and diversity in contrast to relatively undisturbed islands. This was shown using numerical values from the Sharon Index. Studies such as the flowing, are important for making inferences about the impact of bird number and diversity, not only in designate d areas (such as lake Alice) but the whole world also. Conservation and management strategies can therefore be inferred using studies such as this for the most affective and appropriate course of action for environmental sustainability (Rundle D. 1991). Interspecific competition: competition between different species for a resource. E.g space. Intraspecific competition: competition between members of the same species for a resource. Eg. Space Biodiversity: the existence of a wide range of different types of organisms in a given place at a given time. Habituation: occurs wh...