Wildlife biologists are attempting to monitor the population size of the insect pest known as the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) during the summer months. To estimate the total population size of these insects living in a 50 square kilometer forest, biologists have sampled random trees, counting the number of eggs and larvae on each randomly selected tree. Which of these factors MOST directly impacts the accuracy of this estimate?

A)

the number of trees sampled

B)

the presence of gypsy moth predators

C)

the overall health of the gypsy moth population

D)

the weather conditions at the time of the sampling

Question

Physics

Guest

27 December, 17:14

Wildlife biologists are attempting to monitor the population size of the insect pest known as the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) during the summer months. To estimate the total population size of these insects living in a 50 square kilometer forest, biologists have sampled random trees, counting the number of eggs and larvae on each randomly selected tree. Which of these factors MOST directly impacts the accuracy of this estimate?

A)

the number of trees sampled

B)

the presence of gypsy moth predators

C)

the overall health of the gypsy moth population

D)

the weather conditions at the time of the sampling

+2

Answers (2)

Know the Answer?

Jovan Zhang · Answer 1

Jovan Zhang 27 December, 18:01

0

a.) the number of tress sampled

Damarion Weeks · Answer 2

Answer: Option A: The number of trees sampled.

The accuracy can be understood as how close is the measured value to the true value. The aim is to monitor the population size of the insect pest in a 50 square kilometer. Random trees are selected, and number of eggs and larvae are counted. So, the measured value would be closer to actual value when the number of trees sampled are increased. More the number of trees sampled, less would be the chances of error and the accuracy of the estimate would increase.