Concept explainers
To determine: In which cities did the researchers record the highest and lowest sperm counts.
Introduction: Nowadays, the agricultural fields are extremely contaminated with pesticides that are applied in fields to destroy all pests. Pesticides are harmful chemicals with no specificity and are equally harmful to all the living beings. The pesticide not only kills the living environment, it also destroys the reproductive function of animals whose wombs are exposed to such chemicals. In many researches, it was found that the men working in the agricultural fields are more exposed to the pesticide, which may adversely affect their reproductive capability.
Answer to Problem 1DAA
Correct answer: The highest sperm count is in City N and the lowest sperm count is in City C.
Explanation of Solution
Refer to Fig 34.22 “Characteristics of men in four cities” given in the question. Researcher S and her colleagues selected men from four cities from the US, namely City C, City L, City M and City N. Men from the cities were checked for their reproduction capabilities, especially the sperm count and sperm motility. From the given studies, it was found that men from the country with most farm lands were having a decreased sperm count and sperm motility. At the same time, the men in the area with no agriculture have the maximum sperm count and sperm motility.
Fig 34.22 shows that the sperm counts were 58.7 million/ml in City C (most of agricultural area) and in City N (with no agricultural area) the sperm count in men were 102.9 million/ml. Therefore, the city with the lowest sperm count is City C and the highest sperm count is in City N.
The highest sperm count is in City N and the lowest sperm count is in City C.
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Chapter 34 Solutions
Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (MindTap Course List)
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