A field ecologist gathers following data (abundance values) in order to study diversity of species in four plant communities.
|
Species |
Community |
|||
|
C1 |
C2 |
C3 |
C4 |
|
|
Sp1 |
50 |
10 |
0 |
30 |
|
Sp2 |
20 |
60 |
0 |
10 |
|
Sp3 |
0 |
20 |
40 |
0 |
|
Sp4 |
0 |
5 |
100 |
0 |
|
Sp5 |
30 |
0 |
10 |
50 |
|
Sp6 |
5 |
0 |
30 |
25 |
Based on the above observations, an ecologist draws the following conclusions:
A. Plant communities C1 and C4 show a moderate similarity with each other based on shared species and balanced abundance distributions.
B. Plant community C3 shows the least diversity due to heavy dominance by a single species (Sp4).
C. Plant communities C1 and C4 are more diverse than C2 and C3 due to a greater balance of species abundances.
D. Plant communities C2 and C3 show strong similarity with each other due to low species overlap and dominance patterns.
Which of the following statements is correct regarding the above conclusions?