Asked by Idk

A mountain lion population recently experienced a drop in population size. Which of the following would best describe the limiting factor that is involved?
A change occurred in the genetic variability.
The deer population experienced a rapid decline due to a parasite.
Mountain lion hunting experienced an increase in restrictions.
The population of Trichinella, a parasite, experienced a decline.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
"The deer population experienced a rapid decline due to a parasite."

Reason: deer are the mountain lions' food resource; a sudden drop in prey is a biotic, density-dependent limiting factor that reduces survival and reproduction of predators. The other choices would either not cause a decline (more hunting restrictions or fewer parasites) or are not the primary limiting factor in this scenario (a change in genetic variability).