Question

The Kentucky cave shrimp is an endangered species which lacks eyes and has a translucent body suggesting that the animal has long lived underground. An important question that ecologists would like to understand is how biotic as well as abiotic factors in its environment have contributed to restrict the historical range of this unique species from 5 localities in the state to now just the groundwater basins in the Mammoth Cave National Park region. The level of ecological study in question would be: ?

Answer 1

The Kentucky cave shrimps are restricted in 5 locations in Kentucky. All of the population of the species live in a specific habitat, that is growndwater basin and hence shows specific adaptations like lack of eyes and having translucent body that are particularly favourable to such groundwater habitats.

Now to understand why these organisms are restricted to such particular geographic location of Mammoth Cave national park and how the biotic and abiotic factors limit the distribution of the particular species is a study of - organismal ecvology level.

The organismal ecology deals with understanding the specific physical and behavioral adaptations of a species that favours the survival of species in a particular habitat conditions that can have biotic and abiotic variables. The study considers the adpatations of Kentucky cave shrimp and why the adaptations are favored in in 5 groundwater basins location that display particular habitat conditions and what are the variables that make this sites different from other habitats that restricts the inhabitation by this species of shrimp.

The study is not population ecology, as it does not deal with the population structure and number of members of the shrimp species in a single site.

It cannot be directly connected to community ecology as it does not directly deal with the interspecific relations with other species living in the same location, but rather considers the biotic factors that restrict the distribution of the species beyond the particular habitat. Howver, if the symbiotc or mutualistic relations of the shrimps with other species in the particular habitats is studied, that may illuminate how the shrimps particluar adaptations helps in developing symbiotic relation or gaining acess to food and other resources and are not available beyond these particular habitats, then it might be brought under the lens of community ecology. However, it has not been mentioned here whether or not the adaptations for symbiotic relations are to be studied whithin this part of study. rather it is focused on the adaptation of lacking of eyes and being translucent as factors that are related to biotic and abiotic restrcitions to the distribution of the species.

It is not a s study of ecosystem ecology as it does not consdier all of the other species in the different habitats within Mammoth Cave national park ecosystem beyond the groundwater basin and their relations with abiotic factors.

The study is not of biosphere level as it does not consider the organisms and abiotic abiotic factors regulating the ecosystems all over the earth.