AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Answer and Explanation: It’s FALSE that the statement ‘The number of species on an island depends on the size of the island and its distance from the mainland’ would most likely be made by a geologist. This statement would likely be made by a biogeographer.

Detailed explanation-2: -The theory of island biogeography is a theory introduced by Wilson and MacArthur in 1967 that states that islands that are larger in size and closer to a source of species will have the highest species diversity.

Detailed explanation-3: -Thus, the biodiversity found on an island is a function of (1) how close the island is to the mainland, and (2) how large the island is. As you might imagine, larger islands tend to have more species than smaller islands because there is greater habitat diversity and, therefore, more resources available.

Detailed explanation-4: -The core model of the theory, the equilibrium model of island biogeography, predicts that species diversity on an island is positively related to the size of the island, but negatively related by the island’s distance to the mainland.

Detailed explanation-5: -The more isolated an island is, the lower its species richness will be. An island’s size also affects its biodiversity, since larger islands will have a wider variety of habitats, so species which arrive on the island will diversify to fill up the available niches.