[Campbell Biology P.766] Based on the provided graph "Moth capture rate % vs. Time nights ",... | Practice Question

Explanation

The graph shows a significant decrease in the capture rate of Tiger moth species A over time. This suggests that the naive bats, after initial encounters, learn to associate species A's clicks with an undesirable outcome likely its toxic chemical defenses, as warned by the clicks and subsequently avoid them. This pattern of learned avoidance strongly supports Hypothesis 2 , where the clicks act as an aposematic warning signal. If the clicks were solely jamming the sonar Hypothesis 1 , one would expect a more immediate and sustained low capture rate, especially for naive bats, unless the jamming itself also requires learning to overcome, which is less directly implied than learned avoidance of toxicity. Tiger moth species B maintains a consistently low capture rate, which could be due to it being inherently unpalatable/toxic from the start, or its clicks are immediately effective in deterring bats for other reasons, but it doesn't show the learning curve seen in species A.