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Question #46657

Difficulty: 8/10 | 🟢 Free

Which of the following statements regarding ecosystem stability and Paul Ehrlich's 'Rivet Popper Hypothesis' is INCORRECT?

A.
The extinction of a species driving major ecosystem functions is analogous to losing a rivet on the airplane wing, causing a non-linear collapse in stability.
B.
The hypothesis suggests that ecosystem stability is directly proportional to taxonomic diversity, meaning every species loss causes an equal, linear decline in ecosystem resilience.
C.
The initial loss of a few species may not immediately impair overall ecosystem functioning due to the presence of functional redundancy.
D.
David Tilman's outdoor plot experiments support the underlying premise by demonstrating that higher species richness leads to less year-to-year variation in total biomass.

Sharpen your ability to evaluate multiple scenarios and distinguish between competing potential answers.

Stratification Efficiency|Trophic Efficiency Limits|Inverted Biomass Pyramids

Conceptual Pivot: Students often misinterpret the diversity-stability relationship as a strictly linear mathematical function.

The trap in Option B exploits this by using terms like 'directly proportional' and 'linear decline'.

The core of Ehrlich's hypothesis is actually the non-linear impact of losing keystone species (wing rivets) versus redundant species (seat rivets).