Use the figure to answer the following question.

Treehoppers (a type of insect) produce honeydew, which ants use for food. Treehoppers have a major predator, the jumping spider. Researchers hypothesized that the ants would protect the treehoppers from the spiders. In an experiment, researchers followed study plots with ants removed from the system and compared them to a control plot. From the figure, what can you conclude?
A) Ants do somehow protect the treehoppers from spiders.
B) Ants eat the honeydew produced by treehoppers.
C) Ants reduce the numbers of treehoppers.
D) No specific conclusions can be drawn from this figure.

Question

Use the figure to answer the following question.

Treehoppers (a type of insect) produce honeydew, which ants use for food. Treehoppers have a major predator, the jumping spider. Researchers hypothesized that the ants would protect the treehoppers from the spiders. In an experiment, researchers followed study plots with ants removed from the system and compared them to a control plot. From the figure, what can you conclude?
A) Ants do somehow protect the treehoppers from spiders. 
B) Ants eat the honeydew produced by treehoppers. 
C) Ants reduce the numbers of treehoppers. 
D) No specific conclusions can be drawn from this figure.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The figure shows that in the control plot (with ants present), the number of treehoppers remains relatively stable, while in the plots where ants are removed, the number of treehoppers decreases significantly, possibly due to predation by jumping spiders. This suggests that ants do protect treehoppers from their predators.

Use the Figure to Answer the Following Question