Land Area Covered by Native Flowering Plants at a Site in Antarctica Species Area covered in

Choice B is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the table to complete the comparison of how Colobanthus quitensis benefited from warming temperatures with how Deschampsia antarctica benefited from them. The table shows the land area covered by these two animal species at a site in Antarctica. According to the table, Colobanthus quitensis increased the area it covered by 55% from 2009 to 2018, whereas Deschampsia antarctica increased the area it covered by 28% during the same period. It therefore follows that Colobanthus quitensis saw a greater expansion than Deschampsia antarctica did and that Colobanthus quitensis increased the area of land it covered by more than half.

Choice A is incorrect because according to the table, Deschampsia antarctica covered 1,230 square meters of land in 2009 and 1,576 square meters of land in 2018. Deschampsia antarctica therefore covered a larger, not a smaller, area of land in 2018 than in 2009. Moreover, there’s no information in the text or the table that suggests that one species of the animal suppressed the other. Choice C is incorrect because it inaccurately describes the data in the table. The table shows the land area covered by Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica and the percent increase in area covered by the two species from 2009 to 2018, not the average size of individual animals belonging to the two species. The data in the table therefore can’t be used to make a comparison of the increase in individual animals’ average size. Choice D is incorrect because the table shows the land area covered by Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica and the percent increase in area covered by the two species from 2009 to 2018, not the rate at which the species increased the area they covered. Moreover, there’s nothing in the table or the text that suggests that the areas covered by the two species were newly freed from ice.