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← Theoretical 1

Q47 — Codling Moth — Temperature/Humidity Ecological Niche

Theoretical 1 Real exam question — full text reproduced under IBO's CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Ecology

Codling moth (Cydia pomonella) is a serious agricultural pest; favorable environmental conditions can cause population outbreaks. In an experiment, researchers studied the minimum and maximum survival of codling moth pupae under different temperature/humidity conditions. Table 1: combinations causing 100% pupal mortality. Table 2: combinations with the lowest mortality (under 10%).

Diagram plotting humidity vs. temperature, showing the 100%-mortality boundary curve and two zones, X and Y. Figure 1. Diagram of the coordinate space of the two-dimensional ecological niches of codling moth. The jagged curve traces 100%-mortality combinations (Table 1); zones X and Y mark two regions of interest.

Using the information and data, determine whether the following statements are true or false:

A. Viability of codling moth pupae is low in zone X.
B. Zone Y corresponds to the range of 18 - 25 °C air temperature, and 70 - 90% humidity.
C. Adult moths are unable to survive temperatures of 15 °C, when the humidity is lower than 40%.
D. 20 - 30 °C is optimal for survival of moth pupae if the air humidity is above 50%.
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Question reproduced from IBO 2022, Theoretical Paper 1, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)