Passage II

Asemichthys taylori is a predatory saltwater fish that sometimes uses its teeth to punch holes in the shells of its prey, which are ingested (eaten) shell and all. Scientists collected 176 A. taylori and placed them in a holding tank. All shells from the fecal waste of the A. taylori were collected for the next 48 hr. Table 1 shows the number of shells ingested by the A. taylori, the number of survivors (ingested shells that contained living, undigested organisms), and the percent of shells with punched holes for 3 main groups of prey: gastropods, bivalves, and hermit crabs. Table 2 shows the same information for 4 types of gastropods.

Tables adapted from Stephen F. Norton, “Role of the Gastropod Shell and Operculum in Inhibiting Predation by Fishes." ©1988 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

9. The scientists hypothesized that A. taylori would not punch holes in the shells of prey if digestion was possible without punching. Are the data for any of the gastropods listed in Table 2 consistent with this hypothesis?

Answer and Explanation

Your Answer is

Correct Answer is A

Explanation

The stem of the question says that if you can absorb it directly, you don't need to punch.

Look at table 2, Limpets has no survivors, and shells punched is also 0%, indicating that the prey that is easy to absorb does not need punch, which is consistent with the question