12
Mar
Which choice best describes data from the table that support the researchers’ claim?
Juvenile Plants Found Growing on Bare Ground and in Patches of Vegetation for Five Species
| Species | Bare ground | Patches of vegetation | Total | Percent found in patches of vegetation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. moroderi | 9 | 13 | 22 | 59.1% |
| T. libanitis | 83 | 120 | 203 | 59.1% |
| H. syriacum | 95 | 106 | 201 | 52.7% |
| H. squamatum | 218 | 321 | 539 | 59.6% |
| H. stoechas | 11 | 12 | 23 | 52.2% |
Alicia Montesinos-Navarro, Isabelle Storer, and Rocío Perez-Barrales recently examined several plots within a diverse plant community in southeast Spain. The researchers calculated that if individual plants were randomly distributed on this particular landscape, only about 15% would be with other plants in patches of vegetation. They counted the number of juvenile plants of five species growing in patches of vegetation and the number growing alone on bare ground, and compared those numbers to what would be expected if the plants were randomly distributed. Based on these results, they claim that plants of these species that grow in close proximity to other plants gain an advantage at an early developmental stage.
