A team of ecologists hypothesizes that suburban backyard bird feeders, while popular, may actually harm certain native bird populations by disproportionately favoring more aggressive nonnative species.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the ecologists' hypothesis?
- A
Bird feeders are widely available at hardware stores.
- B
Birdseed comes in many varieties.
- Ccheck_circle
In neighborhoods with many bird feeders, populations of certain aggressive nonnative birds rose sharply while populations of several native species declined.
- D
Many homeowners enjoy watching birds.
Explanation
A directly demonstrates the predicted ecological pattern: nonnative gains alongside native declines in feeder-rich areas. B, C, and D are tangential.