From this information it appears that the larger boulder would have the greatest diversity, however Sousa found that this hypothesis was incorrect.
Because of coastal development, resource exploitation, pollution and other environmental hazards, mangrove forests are in danger of extinction worldwide.
The information Sousa and colleagues collect on natural patterns of mangrove regeneration is critical to management and conservation of these unique habitats.”[4] He uses sampling techniques, as well as other various experiments, to discover the reason for spatial and temporal pattern differences seen in gaps in the arbor canopy.
One experiment, to discover why sapling mangroves were not succeeding, found that damage by insects at critical stages in development were the problem.
“This experiment demonstrated that natural levels of variation in propagule size and predisposal damage by insects translate into significant difference in seedling performance in terms of establishment and early growth.