Question

Can someone please explain this one to me?

Which of these plant species is most likely to become an invasive pest with uncontrolled growth when introduced into a new area?

A] It becomes mature quickly and reproduces at an early age

B] it is closely related to another species already living in the area

C] it has a long life span and a ‘late loss’ survivorship curve

D] it relies on certain species of animal for pollination and seed dispersal

E] its individual plants are very large and grow slowly

Answer 1

Hello,
Here, we need a species which is two things - 1. Invasive and 2. Pest

Let us list down the characters of both of these.

Invasive specie :
1. Not natively a part of that environment
2. Grow quickly
3. Reproduce quickly and rapidly
4. High tolerance and plasticity

Pests :
In this context, causing damage to agriculture or disrupting the natural ecological balance of that area.

Now, if you look at the options, the examiner just wants you to interpret the part of invasive species correctly. None of the options go deeper into concept of pest species. So we will focus on that.

Option 1, seems correct. This is exactly what an invasive specie is.
Option 2 is wrong. Invasive species are usually foreign species and cannot be closely related to an already living specie.
Option 3 seems correct. Long life span and late survivorship will ensure that they are not outdone by competition from native species.
Option 4 is wrong, because invasive species must reproduce quickly in the initial phase, if they will rely on others, a quicker reprofuctive rate will not be possible.
Option 5 is clearly wrong. Because the specie needs to over power the native species, it can never be slow growing.

But if you observe, I did not list the contenuof option 3 when I mentioned characters of invasive species. So, if two answers are desirable, option 1 and 3, both are right. But if only one answer is desirable, only option 1 is right. In other words, option 1 is more correct.

Thank you
Hope I helped
Please ask any doubt in comments.