Lyssie3

This is my sandbox where I'll present my ideas about editing the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis page.

First Draft for support of IDH:

The intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis has been supported by several studies involving marine habitats such as coral reefs and macroalgal communities. In shallow coastal waters off of south-west Western Australia, a study was conducted to determine whether the or not the extremely high diversity observed in macroalgal communities was due to disturbance from waves. Using a numerical wave model to estimate the forces caused by waves, researchers were able to determine that there was a significant relationship between species diversity and disturbance index; this is consistent with the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis. Furthermore, diversity was lower at exposed offshore sites where disturbance from waves was highest, and at extremely sheltered site where disturbance from waves was minimized. The study provided evidence that biodiversity in microalgal reef communities possess some relationship witht heir proximity to the outer edge of lagoon systems typical of the Western Australian coast. While this study may have been localized to the Western Australian coast, it still provides some evidence to support the validity of the IDH.

Additionally, a study done in the Virgin Islands National Park found that species diversity, in some locations, of shallow coral reefs increased after infrequent hurricane disturbance. In 1982, reefs in Kona, Hawaii were reported to have an increase in diversity after a moderate storm, although the effects of the storm varied with the reef zones. In 1980, Hurricane Allen increased species diversity in shallow zones of the Discovery Bay Reef in Jamaica because the more dominant corals were reduced; giving the other types a chance to propagate following the disturbance. Similar findings have been reported in shallow reefs in which dominant species of coral have suffered more damage than the less common species. While more long-term studies are required to completely support the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, the studies that have been conducted thus far have proven that IDH does have some validity while attempting to describe the relationship between diversity and the rate of occurrences of disturbance in an area.

References

England, P. R., Phillips, J., Waring, J. R., Symonds, G., and Babcock, R. (2008). Modelling wave-induced disturbance in highly biodiverse marine macroalgal communities: support for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Marine and Freshwater Research 59, 515–520. <http://dx.doi.org.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/10.1071/MF07224>.

Rogers, C. S. "Hurricanes and Coral Reefs: The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis Revisited." Coral Reefs 12.3 (1993): 127-37. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00334471>.