Use the Information and Figure to Answer the Following Question

question 61

Multiple Choice

Use the information and figure to answer the following question.
The sea slug Pteraeolidia ianthina can harbor living dinoflagellates (photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea slugs very much, but high populations (> 5 × 10⁵ cells/mg of sea slug protein) can promote sea slug survival.

Percent of sea slug respiratory carbon demand provided by indwelling dinoflagellates.
In the graph, the percent of the oxygen demand contributed by the dinoflagellates is greater than 100% during much of the year. What is the fate of this "excess" energy?

• A) It is dispersed as "entropy" (disorder in the system).
• B) It is saved for producing offspring by the sea slug.
• C) It is used to move around the sea bottom.
• D) It is used in evaporative cooling by the sea slug.

---

Definitions:

Rare events

Occurrences that happen infrequently or have a very low probability of taking place, often of significant interest in statistical analysis and study.

Content analysis

A research method used to systematically analyze the content of communication media through coding and identifying patterns or themes.

Systematic analysis

An organized method of examining and evaluating data or processes by breaking them into smaller parts to better understand the whole.

Existing documents

Previously produced materials (such as records, letters, or reports) used as data sources in qualitative research.