Recent research by Alice Tortell and colleagues used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical composition of larval monarch butterflies that had been raised on different milkweed species. The chemists were surprised to discover that a larval monarch does not obtain a defensive chemical compound known as a cardenolide directly from its host plant. Rather, the larva synthesizes the cardenolide by chemically altering a compound obtained from the host plant.
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Verbal·Information and Ideas·Command of Evidence
mediumWhich finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ conclusion?
A
The types of cardenolides found in larval monarchs are different from the types found in the milkweed plants on which they were raised.
B
The types of cardenolides found in larval monarchs are very similar to the types of cardenolides found in the milkweed plants on which they were raised.
C
The total mass of cardenolides in a larval monarch is less than the total mass of the chemical compounds in the milkweed it consumed.
D
The total mass of cardenolides in a larval monarch is more than the total mass of the chemical compounds in the milkweed it consumed.