NEETZoologyOrganisms and Populations
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): On the rocky sea coasts of Scotland, the smaller barnacle Chthamalus expanded its distributional range dramatically when the larger barnacle Balanus was experimentally removed. Reason (R): Chthamalus is a competitively superior species that dominates the intertidal area and competitively excludes B
Options
- ABoth (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
- BBoth (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- C(A) is true but (R) is false
- D(A) is false but (R) is true
Correct answer
C. (A) is true but (R) is false
Step-by-step solution
Assertion (A) is true. It describes the phenomenon of competitive release demonstrated by Connell's elegant field experiments, where the removal of the superior competitor allowed the inferior species to expand its range. Reason (R) is false. Balanus is the larger and competitively superior barnacle species that dominates the intertidal area and excludes the smaller barnacle Chthamalus . The reason incorrectly swaps the competitive hierarchy of the two species. Hence, (A) is true but (R) is false. Answer: (A) is tr