Campbell Biology 11th Edition by Lisa Urry,Michael Cain,Steven Wasserman,Peter Minorsky,Jane Reece

Exercise 13

How much does Camouflage Affect Predation on Mice by Owls with and without Moonlight D.W. Kaufman hypothesized that the extent to which the coat color of a mouse contrasted with the color of its surroundings would affect the rate of nighttime predation by owls. He also hypothesized that contrast would be affected by the amount of moonlight. In this exercise, you will analyze data from his studies of owl-mouse predation that tested these hypotheses.
How the Experiment Was Done Pairs of mice ( Peromyscus polionotus) with different coat colors, one light brown and one dark brown , were released simultaneously into an enclosure that contained a hungry owl. The researcher recorded the color of the mouse that was first caught by the owl. If the owl did not catch either mouse within 5 minutes, the test was recorded as a zero. The release trials were repeated multiple times in enclosures with either a dark-colored soil surface or a light-colored soil surface. The presence or absence of moonlight during each assay was recorded.
Data from the Experiment
(a)Is a dark brown mouse on dark-colored soil more likely to escape predation under a full mon or with no moon (b) What about a light brown mouse on light-colored soil Explain.