Q47 - The Rise-and-Fall Pattern of Taxon Persistence in the Fossil Record
Zliobaite et al. (2017) point out that for a given taxon, the pattern below is usually observed in the fossil record (red line) defined as the number of localities where a taxon is found. They propose that this pattern is a reflection of the evolutionary process, as shown by blue arrows representing the effects of environment and competition.
Figure 1.
Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.
A. According to the model the peak of a taxon's history is only identifiable after its extinction.
B. It has been observed that when different species reach their maximum population size in an island, competition and species richness is also at their maximum. This is consistent with the effect of environment and competition as shown in figure.
C. The extinction of a taxon should not depend on its age.
D. When a taxon is rare, its extinction is more likely to be the result of abiotic factors
Question reproduced from IBO 2018, Theoretical Paper 2, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)