Question

Some shorebirds, such as terns, nest in large colonies on sandy beaches and sand spits. These birds maintain small territories surroundings their nest. Nests are packed fairly densely on the sand, each nesting pair maintaining a fix minimum distance between its nest and those belonging to other pairs. What kind of dispersion might you expect in these nests?

a) Clumped dispersion
b) Uniform dispersion
c) Random dispersion
d) Competitive dispersion
e) Reproductive dispersion

Answer 1

Territorial birds such as terns nesting in colonies on sandy beaches exhibit a uniform dispersion pattern, with nests evenly spaced due to territorial behavior ensuring each pair has its own space.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of shorebirds, such as terns, nesting in large colonies with each pair maintaining a fixed minimum distance between their nest and those belonging to other pairs, we would expect to see a uniform dispersion pattern. This is because territorial behaviors lead to an equitable spacing of individuals across their habitat. For instance, penguins, which are also territorial birds, exhibit this type of distribution where each pair maintains its own space, similar to the way some plants release chemicals to inhibit growth of others nearby, a phenomenon known as allelopathy. The spacing ensures that each nesting pair has access to the resources needed for survival and reproduction without direct competition from neighbors.