Question

12th grade mid - year assessment 5 my research focuses particularly on almond orchards. in the mallee woodlands and shrublands of southern australia, probably one of the most understudied and important ecosystems for conservation, almond orchards are rapidly expanding. large fruit tree orchards differ from field crops because they are permanently embedded in the landscape for more than 10 years. therefore, they may have more serious, long - term impacts on the environment than an annual crop. if a plantation is inimical to an animal species, it wont be able to move through the plantation to find food or shelter. this essentially creates a landscape barrier for that species. such effects have been found on bird, ground beetle, reptile, and marsupial species living in landscapes dominated by pine plantations in southeastern australia. unlike pine trees, fruit trees rely on insect pollination, an ecosystem service, to produce fruit. but very little research has looked at how fruit orchards might affect the ecosystems around them, and in turn the pollinators that the fruit trees depend on. with all the agricultural stressors influencing honey bee colony losses in other parts of the world, understanding how wild pollinators respond to agrarian practices is critical. assessment questions 29 out of 36 answered question 32 what is the meaning of \inimical\ as it is used in paragraph 6? a. hostile b. alluring c. stagnant d. skeptical < back next >

Explanation:

The text states that if a plantation is inimical to an animal species, the species can't move through it for food or shelter, creating a barrier. This implies a negative, opposing relationship. "Hostile" means unfriendly or opposed, which fits this context. The other options like "alluring" (attractive), "stagnant" (not moving), and "skeptical" (doubtful) do not match the meaning in the passage.

Answer:

A. hostile