You are studying epiphytic ferns growing in a seasonal tropical forest in which daily light rains supply enough water to keep the soil wet and epiphytic mosses and other plants moist enough for photosynthesis all year, but rains heavy enough to result in surface flows of water on the trunks and branches of the canopy trees occur only in winter. One year, the winter rains fail: How do you expect that the recruitment of new individuals to the fern population will respond compared with normal years?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The lack of heavy winter rains will reduce surface water flows, which are necessary for the fertilization of gametophytes to form new sporophytes, thus reducing the number of new sporophytes. However, gametophytes can still establish due to the consistently moist conditions.

You Are Studying Epiphytic Ferns Growing in a Seasonal Tropical