In 1954, workers at Michigan State University began spraying the elm trees on campus annually with DDT to kill disease-carrying bark beetles. In the spring of 1955, large numbers of dead robins were found on the campus. Observers thought perhaps the robins died after eating earthworms contaminated by DDT the previous spring. Suggest how scientists could have investigated the scientific validity of this idea.

Question

Accepted Answer

Welcome back. Here's our next problem. It says identify the option that includes the correct statements regarding pesticides and we have three statements here P. Q. And R. And then our answer choices A through E. Different combinations of P. Q. And R. So let's walk through statements and think about which ones are correct. Which is what we're looking for. Choice or statement. P. Says pesticides are compounds that are used to destroy crops. Well this is not a correct statement. They're used to kill the insects that could attack the crops not to destroy the crops themselves. So uh statement P. Is not correct. So we'll just go ahead and eliminate any answer choice that includes P. So limited choice, A choice D. And choice E. So now we're on to your statement Q. Which says excessive use and misuse of pesticides results in the loss of biodiversity. Well this is a correct statement. Um excessive use and misuse of pesticides. They can run off into the surrounding water and soil and contaminate both those things. Um Too much that can end up killing too many insects that perhaps are an important part of an ecosystem. Uh Whether pollinators and pollinators die off then you could have die off of plant species that depend on them, die off of animal species that eat those particular plants. Um You could have die off of insects that are natural predators of other insects and have far reaching effects that way runoff into water could accumulate in aquatic animals and fish and therefore harm animals that eat the fish or the fish themselves. Uh Same with if pesticides get incorporated into the bodies of animals in the surrounding area where especially as you go higher up the food chain and things become concentrated, you might actually harm predator animals in that area. So it can definitely result in the loss of biodiversity if it results in loss of different species and different organisms. So Q. Is correct. So again we're down to both B. And C. B. Is only Q. C. As Q. And R. So let's look at the statement are pesticides may pollute our food, kill pollinators and endanger our ecosystems. Well yes this is a true statement. Pesticides can pollute the fluid. They tend to be harmful chemicals and can get into the bodies of animals or people that eat them. Uh They can kill pollinators. Most many pollinators are insects, so a pesticide will affect them and endanger our ecosystems. That loss of biodiversity harm to species um can end up disrupting local ecosystems. So our answer here will be Choice C. Which is Q. And R. Are the correct statements, we will eliminate Choice B. Which is only Q. Since both Q. And R. Are correct. So again the correct statements regarding pesticides, choice C. Q. And our excessive use and misuse of pesticides results in the loss of biodiversity. And pesticides may pollute our food kill pollinators and endanger our ecosystems, See you in the next video

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Key Concepts

Hypothesis Testing

Ecological Impact of Pesticides

Data Collection and Analysis