Robert Paine studied sea stars in the intertidal zone along the northern Pacific coast. When he removed sea stars from a study area, their prey, two mussel species, increased exponentially. This crowded out other species, and the overall biodiversity of the community was greatly reduced. What role in the community did the sea star play?

Ali hypothesized that increasing fertilizer would increase plant growth. four groups of thirty similar plants were given 0 to 15 ml of fertilizer, as shown in the graph. the change in plant height for each group over a two-week period was averaged and recorded. plant group fertilizer added (ml) avg. growth (cm) a 0 4 b 5 6 c 10 8 d 15 3 what is the best conclusion based on this data? the hypothesis was not supported because the data indicated that fertilizing plants does not improve plant growth. the hypothesis was supported; to get the best growth, use 5 milliliters of fertilizer per plant. the hypothesis was not supported; the data indicated that too much fertilizer can inhibit plant growth. the hypothesis was supported; to get the best growth, use 15 milliliters of fertilizer per plant.