Treehoppers (A Type of Insect) Produce Honeydew, Which Ants Use

question 19

Multiple Choice

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. In the figure shown, 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.
• E) Treehoppers do not produce honeydew in July and are not protected by the ants.

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Definitions:

Monopoly Markets

A type of market structure where a single producer or group of producers have control over the supply of a product or service, often lacking competition.

Perfectly Competitive Markets

Markets in which there are many buyers and sellers, the products are homogeneous, and there are no barriers to entry or exit.

Nash Equilibrium

A concept in game theory where no player can benefit by changing strategies while the other players keep theirs unchanged.

Oligopoly Market

A market structure characterized by a few firms controlling the majority of the market share, leading to limited competition.