Your colleague designed a common garden experiment to determine if moisture level influences competition between a native alga and an exotic alga. the design includes four plot types: wet with native only, wet with exotic only, wet with both algae, and dry with both algae. the results are below.

This question is unfortunately incomplete. Here is the full question:

Your colleague designed a common garden experiment to determine if desiccation (drying out) influences competition between a native alga and an exotic alga. The design includes four plot types: dry with native only, dry with exotic only, dry with both algae, and wet with both algae.

When grown together on dry plots, the native grew well while the exotic went extinct. When grown together on wet plots, the exotic grew well while the native went extinct. Both algae grew in dry plots when grown alone.

You note that his experimental design is incomplete and, as a result, he cannot support one of the following conclusions. Which conclusion is NOT supported?

a) Dry habitats are part of the fundamental niche of the native alga.

b) Dry habitats are part of the fundamental niche of the exotic alga.

c) The native alga competitively excludes the exotic alga in dry habitats.

d) The exotic alga competitively excludes the native alga in wet habitats.

The conclusion that is not supported is d) Dry habitats are part of the fundamental niche of the exotic alga. Although the exotic algae grew on the dry plot when grown alone, it was outcompeted on the dry plot when grown with the native algae. Therefore, there is no evidence that conclusion d is true.