Q15 - Competition and Salt Tolerance Divide Two Marsh Plants
Most of the best farmland, including the English fens, is low lying and threatened by rising sea levels. Spartina patens and Typha angustifolia are marsh plants. To investigate the effect of seawater exposure on these species, they were planted in saltwater marshes and freshwater marshes, with and without neighboring plants (1), or in greenhouses at six salt concentrations (2).
Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.
A. Spartina patens is more salt-tolerant than Typha angustifolia.
B. Spartina patens physiology is better adapted for saltwater exposure than freshwater exposure.
C. Spartina patens will become more common as sea-levels rise.
D. The distribution of Typha angustifolia in habitats with graded salinity is determined by competition.
Question reproduced from IBO 2017, Theoretical Exam B, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Official answer key & worked solutions