[Campbell Biology P.918] Population-level defenses in plants involve coordinated behaviors. ... | Practice Question
Population-level defenses in plants involve coordinated behaviors. Which of the following statements accurately describes a characteristic of these defenses as presented in the text?
A: Lima bean plants release a chemical 'news' to directly kill spider mites on neighboring plants.
B: Masting in bamboo populations refers to individual plants flowering at different times over several decades to maximize seed dispersal.
C: In masting, an internal clock signals each plant in the population to flower synchronously, releasing massive amounts of seeds, such as up to 80,000 kg of bamboo seeds per hectare.
D: The chemical communication defense in lima bean plants involves the attacked plant releasing molecules to make itself more resistant to future attacks.
Explanation
The text describes masting as 'a phenomenon in some species called masting, in which a population synchronously produces a massive amount of seeds after a long interval.' It also specifies that 'an internal clock signals each plant in the population that it is time to flower' and mentions '80,000 kg of bamboo seeds are released per hectare.'