Question

composting
as part of a class exercise on composting, two students
constructed identical worm bins (containers), which they kept at
their homes. red worms were then added to the bins. both
students counted the number of red worms in their bins on the
first of the month. the results are shown in the graph below.

suppose several house flies were added to each the worm bins
and feed on the food scraps that were added for the worms to
eat. which of the following interactions would most likely occur
between the house flies and the red worms?
a competition
b commensalism
c predation
d parasitism

Explanation:

• Competition (A): Occurs when two or more organisms vie for the same limited resource (like food). But there's no indication house flies and red worms are competing for a resource here.
• Commensalism (B): One organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed. No such one - sided benefit shown.
• Predation (C): One organism (predator) kills and eats another (prey). House flies eating red worms fits this as one organism (flies) is consuming the other (worms).
• Parasitism (D): One organism (parasite) lives on or in another (host) and harms it but doesn't usually kill it immediately. This doesn't match as flies are eating (killing) worms.

Answer:

C. Predation