Explore AP Biology 8.5.B questions on how competition, predation, cooperation, symbiosis, and niche partitioning shape population dynamics, energy flow, and community structure.
Twenty million years ago the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean were connected, and water
flowed freely between the two bodies of water. Many of the same marine species were found
in both areas. Over millions of years, the land referred to as the Isthmus of Panama formed,
eventually closing off the connection between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean and creating
two separate bodies of water. The ecology of these two marine habitats was dramatically altered
by this land formation. The warmer Caribbean water could no longer flow west, so the Pacific
water cooled and became more nutrient-rich, while the Caribbean water became warmer.
Predict the effect the formation of the isthmus had on resource availability for South
American species.
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama connected two continents, North America and South America. Many North American land animal species migrated to South America after the formation of the isthmus and occupied similar niches as South American species. Predict the effect the formation of the isthmus had on resource availability for South American species.
- (Resource availability) would have decreased.
1 point
Justify your prediction in part C.
Justify your prediction in part C.
- More species would now be competing for the same resources, (resulting in fewer resources for each individual).
1 point