2. Read the following information, which was posted in the great apes exhibit of

Question

2. Read the following information, which was posted in the great apes exhibit of the Fremont Zoo, and answer the questions that follow.

The Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) lives in the moist tropical rainforests of western Africa. The gorillas’ primary diet consists of fruits, leaves, foliage, and sometimes ants and termites. Occasionally they venture onto farms and feed on crops. Their only natural enemy is the leopard, the only animal other than humans that can successfully kill an adult gorilla. Disease, particularly the Ebola virus, is threatening to decimate large populations of these gorillas in Congo.

The Western lowland gorilla has a life span of about 40 years and produces one offspring every 4 years. Males usually mate when they are 15 years old. Females reach sexual maturity at about 8 years of age, but rarely mate before they are 10 years old.

(a) Based on the information above, is the Western lowland gorilla an r-selected or a K-selected species? Provide evidence to support your answer.

(b) Identify and explain four community interactions that involve the Western lowland gorilla.

(c) Explain what is meant by secondary succession and describe how it may be initiated in a tropical forest.

3. Tropical rainforests are home to a tremendous diversity of species. As a result, you need to develop a plan to protect this diversity.

(a) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of protecting a single large area versus several small areas.

(b) How might increasing the amount of edge habitat affect species that typically live deep in the forest?

(c) Discuss the merits of preserving individual species that are threatened and endangered versus preserving the function of the ecosystem.

Explanation / Answer

Great apes and other primates can be seen both indoors and outdoors in several locations at the Zoo. The Great Ape Houseis home to western lowland gorillas and orangutans. The house is about mid-way on Olmsted Walk, between the Small Mammal House and the Reptile Discovery Center.

(a) The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is one of two subspecies of the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) that lives inmontane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps in central Africa in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic,Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is the gorilla most often found inzoos. Western lowland gorilla - K selected because they take a long time to reach maturity and have a low number of offspring.

(b) Four community interactions for gorillas:

-competition between humans and gorillas for crops
-gorillas are herbivores feeding on fruit, leads, and foliage
-leopards are true predators that feed on gorillas
- the ebola virus is a parasite living in the species.

(c) secondary succession and how could it be initiated in a tropical forest:

A succession that occurs on an area of land that is devoid of vegetation but has not experienced complete destruction of soil. in a moist tropical area, the secondary communities are eventually composed of trees. possible events that could lead to this: abandoned farmland, forest fires, cutting down and removing trees for lumber.

Tropical Rainforest:

(a) The advantage of protecting a single large area is that the area will have more species because they support larget populations of each species, which makes them less susceptible to extinction. Larget areas also contain more species because they typically contain more habitats and therefore provide a wider range of niches for different species to occupy. A disadvantage of protecting a single large area is that an event such as a diseas or natural disaster could eliminate all individuals in the area.

(b) Increasing the amount of edge habitat will affect species that live deep in the forest because some animals that thrive in the edge habitat can have detrimental effects on species living deep in the forest.

(c) The merit of protecting a single species is that when a species declines, the natural response is to encourage a population rebound by improving its conditions. This improvement can include providing additional habitat or reducting the presence of a contaminant that is causing impaired reproduction. By protecting that habitat for the
single species, your protect the entire ecosystem as well.

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