Question

in subtropical asia, apis dorsata (giant honeybee) plays an essential role in pollinating a wide variety of crops and wild plants. to study how different agricultural land covers affect the species, rika raffiudin and colleagues monitored the foraging activity of the bees as well as the pollen content of the honey from a. dorsata colonies at two sites in indonesia: kampar, characterized by its surrounding monoculture farms (growing a single crop), and kerinci, a forest - agriculture site where multiple crops, including hot peppers and coffee, are grown nearby. the researchers concluded that a lack of crop variety may reduce total pollen collection by
which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ conclusion?
a. significantly fewer bees were observed engaging in foraging activities with the crops surrounding kerinci than with the crops surrounding kampar.
b. honey samples from kerinci bee colonies contained significantly higher concentrations of pollen than honey samples from kampar bee colonies did.
c. pollen in honey samples from kampar bee colonies was predominantly sourced from a single plant species, whereas pollen in honey samples from kerinci bee colonies was sourced from multiple different plant species.
d. in one kerinci bee colony, a greater proportion of bees returned to their nests with pollen than returned without pollen, whereas the inverse was observed in a second kerinci bee colony.

Explanation:

The researchers' conclusion is that a lack of crop variety (monoculture like Kampar) reduces total pollen collection by A. dorsata. To support this, we need evidence linking lower crop variety to lower pollen collection. Option B directly compares pollen concentrations in honey: Kerinci (high crop variety) has significantly higher pollen concentrations than Kampar (low crop variety), which aligns with the conclusion that less variety leads to less pollen collection.

Answer:

B. Honey samples from Kerinci bee colonies contained significantly higher concentrations of pollen than honey samples from Kampar bee colonies did.