Who observed the relationship between species richness and area during explorations in the South American jungles?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and geographer, explored the South American jungles. He saw that within a region species richness increases with the explored area, but only up to a limit. This species-area relationship turns out to be a rectangular hyperbola, and a straight line on a log scale.
NCERT Extract:
Patterns of Biodiversity – “… (ii) Species-Area relationships : During his pioneering and extensive explorations in the wilderness of South American jungles, the great German naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt observed that within a region species richness increased with increasing explored area, but only up to a limit.”