A corn farmer in the Midwest is plagued by corn earworms which eat his crop. However, the more species of natural enemies, such as spiders and beetles, he adds to his field, the less the damage. Which theory of species richness-community function does this support?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The redundancy theory suggests that as the number of species in an ecosystem increases, so does the likelihood of functional redundancy among them. This means that multiple species can perform similar roles in pest control, leading to more effective suppression of pests like corn earworms as the diversity of natural enemies increases.

A Corn Farmer in the Midwest Is Plagued by Corn