Which of the following best illustrates ecological succession?
a. A mouse eats seeds, and an owl eats the mouse.
b. Decomposition in soil releases nitrogen that plants can use.
c. Grasses grow in a deserted field, followed by shrubs and then trees.
d. Imported pheasants increase in numbers, while local quail disappear.

Question

Which of the following best illustrates ecological succession?

a. A mouse eats seeds, and an owl eats the mouse.

b. Decomposition in soil releases nitrogen that plants can use.

c. Grasses grow in a deserted field, followed by shrubs and then trees.

d. Imported pheasants increase in numbers, while local quail disappear.

Accepted Answer

Hello, everyone. Let's look at our next question. It says which of the following areas is the best example of the colonization of a previously inhabited area by new organisms following a disturbance. Well, we can recall from our content video that when we have um an environment that's sort of reestablishing itself um coming back to life after something has destroyed, what was there before? So there was living organisms before something happened to destroy them. And now new organisms are growing, it's called secondary succession and that's as opposed to primary succession, which is when you have organisms growing for the first time in a brand new environment. So we're looking for an example of secondary succession. Let's notice that we do have choice d all of the above. So there's a chance that all three answers will be correct. So let's start by looking through here and we see choice. A lichens growing on newly cooled lava. We'll notice that newly cooled. Um This is not an example of previously colonized area with new things growing. There was nothing living growing there before it was molten rock. Now it's cooled down to become cooled, hard lava and organisms are growing on it for the first time. So that's primary succession and not our answer. And because we've eliminated choice A, we also can automatically eliminate choice d since it will not be all of the above, let's go to choice B vegetation developing on a bare rock. So the rock was bare, nothing living there before organism growing the vegetation growing in a completely new environment for the first time. So that's primary succession also and not our answer. And now we have choice. C grass is developing following a forest fire and note that we have this forest fire, there was a forest there, a fire destroyed it. And now we have grasses growing so new organisms growing where there were organisms before the ecosystem coming back to life after being partially or totally destroyed. So this is going to be our answer. So which of the following areas is the best example of the colonization of a previously inhabited area by new organisms following a disturbance? Can I see grasses developing following forest fire? See you in the next video?

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Key Concepts

Ecological Succession

Pioneer Species

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