Final answer:
To compare the reproductive potential of two beetle populations, scientists would focus on fecundity, which is the ability to produce many offspring and provides a direct measure of an organism's reproductive output.
Step-by-step explanation:
The data that would be used to compare the reproductive potential of the squash beetle and another beetle native to the Great Lakes region would be fecundity. Fecundity refers to the number of offspring produced by an organism. By comparing the fecundity of the two beetle populations, scientists can determine which beetle has a higher reproductive potential.
When comparing the reproductive potential of the squash beetle native to the Everglades with another beetle native to the Great Lakes region, the data that would be most relevant is fecundity. Fecundity refers to the ability of an organism to produce many offspring and is a direct measure of reproductive potential. Other aspects such as age structure, mortality rate, and survivorship curves are also important in population studies but are not direct measures of reproductive output. Because fecundity is directly concerned with the number of offspring an organism can have in a lifetime, it is the correct choice to compare the reproductive potentials of the two beetle populations.