Q44 - Temperature-Dependent Competitive Outcomes Between Two Salmonid Fishes

Theoretical A Real exam question - full text reproduced under IBO's CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effects of temperature on interspecific competition between two stream salmonid fishes, Salvelinus malma and S. leucomaenis, with largely allopatric altitudinal distribution. Three combinations of species population, including allopatric populations of S. malma and S. leucomaenis, and sympatric populations of both species, were treated with low temperature (6°C) and high temperature (12°C), in which thriving allopatric populations of S. malma (6°C) and S. leucomaenis (12°C) are commonly found.

Figure 1. Figure 1.

Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.

A. Competition of these two species is likely to have been affected by temperature and altitude

B. S. malma may be distributed at higher altitudinal ranges than is S. leucomaenis

C. S. leucomaenis is likely to be more low-temperature stress-resistant than S. malma

D. S. malma has a narrower fundamental niche than does S. leucomaenis

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Question reproduced from IBO 2016, Theoretical Paper A, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)