Ruminants Are Hoofed Animals Such as Cattle and Sheep

question 13

Essay

Ruminants are hoofed animals such as cattle and sheep. Two categories of ruminants are browsers (leaf eaters) and grazers (grass eaters). Some biologists believe that the incisor arcade, that part of the mouth between the incisors, is shaped differently for browsers and grazers, and that might explain their food selection. The "curvature" of an incisor arcade is a measure of its shape, with large values indicating a long, thin mouth, and small values a shorter, wider mouth. The back-to-back stem plot below compares the curvatures of incisor arcades of a sample of species of browsers and grazers in the ruminant family. ​ (a) Briefly describe each of the two curvature distributions, browsers and grazers, noting any unusual features of the data. (b) The theory of some biologists is that browsers have thinner mouths because the browse plants frequently have thorns and spines; browsers have evolved to have thinner mouths to get beyond the thorns and spines to the food part of the plant. Is the data in the back-to-back stem plot consistent with this theory? What aspect of the data would you consider when answering this question?

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Definitions:

Product Differentiation

The technique of making a product or service stand out in the market to make it more appealing to a specific target demographic.

Price Competition

A type of competition where businesses focus on selling products and services at lower prices than their competitors.

Tacit Collusion

A form of collusion among competitors in which they cooperate to achieve higher prices or market share without explicit communication.

Product Differentiation

the process of distinguishing a product or service from others in the market to make it more attractive to a particular target audience.