Faial and Flores are two islands in the Azores that have sim…
Faial and Flores are two islands in the Azores that have similar size, topography and environments. Azorean blueberry is common on both islands. On Faial, multiple herbivorous insects regularly consume Azorean blueberry leaves but there are very few herbivores on the island of Flores. In 2010, a biologist collected Azorean blueberry leaves from each island and found that those in Faial have a high concentration of flavonoids, which disrupts endocrine activity in insects. Azorean blueberry leaves in Flores had variable, but overall low concentrations of flavonoids. If a large storm blows many insect herbivores to the island of Flores and they establish healthy populations, what do you expect will happen to the Azorean blueberries of Flores?
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