How does the rate of transpiration differ between the two plant communities?
We expect that there will be a greater rate of transpiration of plants in the hammocks than in the mangroves (alternate hypothesis or prediction). We think this will occur because the plants in the hammocks have more access to fresh water; hence, they would transpire the excess water. On the other hand, the mangroves would tend to conserve the little fresh water they have since they grow in brackish water. 3. How does succulence differ between the two plant communities? We expect that there will be greater succulence in the plants of the mangroves than in the hammocks (alternate hypothesis or prediction). The plants in the mangroves will store as much freshwater as possible because of the salty environment. On the other hand, we expect that the hammocks would tend to retain less fresh water because water is easily replenished in this environment. METHODS Stomatal Density In order to compare stomatal density, we collected leaves from two ecosystems: the hammocks and the mangroves. Ten l
