After a forest fire twenty years ago, the National Forest Service planted seedlings of short leaf pines to replace the trees that were destroyed. All of the seedlings were cloned from the same plant. Last year a fungus infected all of the pines that were planted, killing all of the trees. What is your conclusion as to why the fungus destroyed all the pine trees?

Question

​​​​​​After a forest fire twenty years ago, the National Forest Service planted seedlings of short leaf pines to replace the trees that were destroyed. All of the seedlings were cloned from the same plant. Last year a fungus infected all of the pines that were planted, killing all of the trees. What is your conclusion as to why the fungus destroyed all the pine trees?

(1 point)
Responses

The fungus was a new strain that the pines had no resistance against.
The fungus was a new strain that the pines had no resistance against.

The pine trees were weakened because of a beetle infestation, causing them to be susceptible to a fungal disease.
The pine trees were weakened because of a beetle infestation, causing them to be susceptible to a fungal disease.

Fungi is more deadly to pines than other environmental factors.
Fungi is more deadly to pines than other environmental factors.

The pines were all genetically identical, so all of them were susceptible to the same fungus.
The pines were all genetically identical, so all of them were susceptible to the same fungus.
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GPT-4o mini · Answer

The most appropriate conclusion based on the information provided is:

The pines were all genetically identical, so all of them were susceptible to the same fungus.

This explanation highlights how the lack of genetic diversity among the trees made them all equally vulnerable to the same pathogen, in this case, the fungus.