Over half of the world’s human population lives in cities. Are species adapting to life in these novel urban environments? A global team of researchers (including Tiffany Longo, Jesse Bragger, and Summer Shaheed, shown in in the photo) used white clover as a study system to find out. They measured the production of a compound called hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in rural and urban clover plants. Production of HCN deters herbivores and increases tolerance to drought but has a cost: Clover must expend energy to produce HCN.
When a statistical test was used to compare the trend in the data to the prediction of the null hypothesis, the 𝑃 value (see BioSkills 3) was <0.001 for Münster, Germany. Does this result increase or decrease your confidence in the result? Explain.
