Match the following :

A- IV , B- I, C- II, D-III.

• 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. On a logarithmic scale, the relationship is a straight line described by the equation:    log S = log C + Z log A

          where,

                  S= Species richness

                  A= Area Z = slope of the line (regression coefficient)

                  C = Y-intercept

• Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have proposed various hypotheses; some important ones are (a) Speciation is generally a function of time, unlike temperate regions subjected to frequent glaciations in the past, tropical latitudes have remained relatively undisturbed for millions of years.
• Constant environments promote niche specialisation and lead to a greater species diversity and (c) There is more solar energy available in the tropics, which contributes to higher productivity; this in turn might contribute indirectly to greater diversity.
• Frugivorous  = fruit-eating.