Shelton: The recent sharp decline in the number of moose in this region was caused by a large increase in the white-t...

Irina on November 14, 2019

Hi @lerondagates,

The stimulus tells us that white-tailed deer carry a parasite that is harmful to the moose population, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of moose in the region. The neighboring region also has experienced a large increase in the white-tailed deer population, but the moose population there has remained stable. How do we explain this paradox?

(D) points out that there is a large overlap in the ranges of moose and white-tailed deer in the region with the declining moose population, but not in the neighboring region. A large overlap in the ranges essentially means that a lot of moose and deer graze in the same spots, facilitating the parasite transfer. No overlap or small overlap in the ranges in the neighboring region means deer and moose rarely come in contact with each other. "Region" is a fairly broad term - let's say someone told you there is an increase in deer population and there is moose population in New England, but it turns out that deer herds are only found in Connecticut, and moose are only found in Maine. Sure, they are in the same region but the ranges where moose and deer are actually found are hundreds of miles apart, meaning they do not actually live "nearby" to transfer the parasite. This is the type of scenario (D) is describing, it is possible for deer and moose to be in the same region, but not nearby in relation to each other.

Let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions.

lerondagates on November 14, 2019

Wow, that helps a lot. I understand now. and now C makes no sense to me. LOL. I totally get it. Thanks for the breakdown.