Question

native to latin america, the cane toad was introduced to australia in the 1930s. in recent decades, tadpoles in the australian population have been shown to consume eggs of their own species. a 2022 study showed that when presented with cane toad eggs as well as eggs of native australian amphibians, cane toad tadpoles disproportionately consumed eggs of their own species. this behavior results from their attraction to bufadienolide, a chemical produced by the eggs of cane toads but not by the eggs of native amphibians. however, using data from this study, a student wishes to argue that the presence of bufadienolide doesnt entirely explain the cane toad tadpoles preference for certain eggs over others.
which choice best describes data from the table that support the students argument?
a the tadpoles consumed a higher percentage of the striped burrowing frog eggs than they did of the eggs of the dainty green tree frog.
b the tadpoles left a certain percentage of the eggs of each of the five species unharmed, thus ultimately allowing them to hatch.
c the tadpoles consumed a lower percentage of the short - footed frog eggs than they did of the eggs of their own species.
d the tadpoles consumed the same percentage of the dainty green tree frog eggs as they did of the little red tree frog eggs.

Explanation:

• Option A: The table shows that the tadpoles consumed \(10\%\) of the striped - burrowing frog eggs and \(1\%\) of the dainty green tree frog eggs. \(10\%>1\%\), so the tadpoles consumed a higher percentage of the striped - burrowing frog eggs than the dainty green tree frog eggs. This supports the student's argument that the presence of bufadienolide (which is in cane - toad eggs but not in native eggs) doesn't solely explain the preference.
• Option B: The argument is about the preference for certain eggs (related to bufadienolide), not about eggs being left unharmed.
• Option C: The short - footed frog is not mentioned in the context of the chemical (bufadienolide) - related preference. The key is comparing eggs with and without bufadienolide (cane - toad eggs vs native eggs like dainty green tree frog eggs).
• Option D: The little red tree frog is not relevant to the comparison based on the chemical (bufadienolide) as it is not clear if it has the chemical or not in the given context.

Answer:

A. The tadpoles consumed a higher percentage of the striped burrowing frog eggs than they did of the eggs of the dainty green tree frog.