When estimating plant cover, students need to use keys to reliably identify the species they encounter. Which statement about the dichotomous (taxonomic) key system is most accurate?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Examining the question about the dichotomous (taxonomic) key system, several statements describe how such keys function and should be evaluated.
Option A: 'It eliminates all species sequentially in order from most to least abundant in community.' This is incorrect because dichotomous keys do not rely on species abundance or ecological prevalence to eliminate possibilities; they use diagnostic morphological characters, independent of how common a species is in a community.
Option B: 'It uses variation in morphological characteristics to eliminate species sequentially until only one possibility remains.' This is a precise description of how dichotomous keys operate: each couplet presents two contrasting traits, guiding the user to discard groups until a single species is identified. The sequential narrowing is the core idea of a dichotomous key.
Option C: 'It uses variation in morphological characteristics to identify species.' While this is true in a broad sense, it is less specific than B. The key’s defining feature is the sequential elimination process, not just identification by morphology alone, so this statement is incomplete.
Option D: 'It sequentially eliminates morphologically similar species.' This is partly accurate in that similar species may be separated by diagnostic traits, but the phrase implies a focus on similar species specifically, which is not the formal definition of the key’s method. The key uses pairwise choices to separate by diagnostic traits, not necessarily only morphologically similar ones.
Option E: 'It uses variation in plant size to eliminate species sequentially until only one possibility remains.' This is incorrect because plant size is not a reliable diagnostic trait for all species and the dichotomous key uses multiple consistent morphological characters, not primarily size, to differentiate species.
Overall, option B conveys the standard and most accurate description of the dichotomous key mechanism, highlighting the role of morphological variation and the sequential elimination leading to a single identification.

Module FYM003: ONLINE PRACTICAL QUIZ

When estimating plant cover, students need to use keys to reliably identify the species they encounter. Which statement about the dichotomous (taxonomic) key system is most accurate?

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