Replicates of seed mixtures containing four species are sown at a high density.However,the seeds are sown two ways.One way,they are sown at random.The other way they are sown as single-species aggregations.If the results showed that the performance of the superior competitor of the four species was compromised when grown as an aggregation but that aggregation improved the performance of the three inferior competitors,what would you think?
A) Intraspecific competition was not strong and coexistence is not favored.
B) Interspecific and intraspecific competition did not matter because niche differentiation was more important.
C) Coexistence was favored by niche differentiation.
D) When planted as aggregations, this ensured that intraspecific competition was stronger than interspecific competition.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The performance of the superior competitor was compromised when grown as an aggregation, indicating that intraspecific competition (competition within the same species) was strong in this scenario. Conversely, the improved performance of the three inferior competitors when grown as aggregations suggests that being in groups helped them face the interspecific competition (competition between different species) better. This implies that intraspecific competition was indeed stronger than interspecific competition when the species were planted as aggregations.

Replicates of Seed Mixtures Containing Four Species Are Sown at a High