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. During a one-year study, researchers found no difference in treehopper populations in any of their control and experimental groups. What could they measure during the second year to gain information about why this might have occurred?
A) Measure the number of ant females.
B) Measure the relative sizes of the treehoppers.
C) Measure the relative abundance of jumping spiders.
D) Measure the relative sizes of different ant species.

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. During a one-year study, researchers found no difference in treehopper populations in any of their control and experimental groups. What could they measure during the second year to gain information about why this might have occurred?
A) Measure the number of ant females. 
B) Measure the relative sizes of the treehoppers. 
C) Measure the relative abundance of jumping spiders. 
D) Measure the relative sizes of different ant species.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To understand why the ants did not protect the treehoppers from jumping spiders, researchers could measure the abundance of jumping spiders in the control and experimental groups. If there were similar numbers of spiders in both the groups, then it suggests that the presence of ants did not deter them from preying on treehoppers, which could explain why there was no difference in treehopper populations.

Use the Figure to Answer the Following Question