A shift in weather patterns causes a drought. The normally moist forest becomes dry, with the leaf litter on the forest floor blowing away in high winds. The creek, which normally overflows and floods the forest floor every time it rains, dries up. What would you expect to happen to the slime molds that live in the area?
A) The plasmodium would expand and colonize the now -clean forest floor.
B) The slime mold would begin making red photosynthetic pigments.
C) The slime mold would begin parasitizing humans.
D) Dry conditions would encourage the slime mold to photosynthesize.
E) The slime molds would shift from the plasmodium and form fruiting bodies.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Slime molds typically respond to dry conditions by shifting from the plasmodium stage, where they are more vulnerable to desiccation, to forming fruiting bodies, which are structures designed to disperse spores and survive until conditions improve.

A Shift in Weather Patterns Causes a Drought