How does the slope of the regression line for species richness and area change for larger areas like…
How does the slope of the regression line for species richness and area change for larger areas like continents?
The slope becomes less steep
The slope remains unchanged
The slope becomes much steeper
The slope becomes less negative
Solution
If the species:area relationship is analyzed among very large areas like entire continents, the slope of the regression line becomes much steeper, with Z values in the range of 0.6 to 1.2. For example, for frugivorous (fruit:eating) birds and mammals in the tropical forests of different continents, the slope is found to be 1.15.