Question

a group of researchers gathered data on the number of cliff swallow road kills they observed while driving between nest sites in nebraska. the data cover a period of about 30 years and date back to the time when cliff swallows first started to nest under highway overpasses. as the graph shows, the number of road kills observed declined sharply over time. the data led the researchers to ask themselves this question: what caused this decline?

Answer 1

Answer: The number of road kills of cliff swallows observed over time could be attributed to several factors.

Explanation:

One possible explanation could be that the cliff swallows have adapted their nesting behavior to avoid road traffic. As the number of road kills increased over the years, the birds may have learned to build their nests in safer locations, away from highways and busy roads. This would result in fewer cliff swallows being hit by cars.

Another possible explanation could be that there are fewer cliff swallows nesting under highway overpasses than there were in the past. This could be due to changes in the environment or the availability of suitable nesting sites. For example, if the area surrounding the highway overpasses has become more developed or urbanized, there may be fewer natural nesting sites available for the birds.

Additionally, it is possible that changes in the behavior of drivers may have contributed to the decline in road kills. Over time, drivers may have become more aware of the presence of cliff swallows on the roadways and may be taking extra precautions to avoid hitting them.

Overall, the decline in the number of road kills observed over time could be due to a combination of these and other factors. Further research and analysis would be needed to fully understand the causes of this trend.