A city has been trying to control its rat population by poisoning them.This kills up to 50 percent of the population, but the remaining rats then reproduce more rapidly, rebuilding the population.Given this response, a more effective method of rat control might be to

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the availability of food is a limiting factor for the rat population, drastically reducing the amount of garbage available for food will limit their reproductive capacity and force them to disperse outside of the city limits in search of food. This will effectively reduce the rat population in the city. Setting rat traps and increasing the city's population of feral cats may help to control the population in the short term, but reducing the availability of food will be a more effective long-term solution. Poisoning a larger percentage of the rats may increase the rate of rebound reproduction, so it is not a viable solution. Letting the rat population reach its carrying capacity would lead to an unsustainable population that will cause further issues.

A City Has Been Trying to Control Its Rat Population