Maria wants to know if birds prefer to eat in one place over another. She has three of the same bird feeders and fills them with the same amount of the same birdseed. She puts each of the feeders in her backyard: one feeder in a large dead tree, another feeder on the doghouse, and the last feeder in a small tree. She measures the amount birdseed eaten from each bird feeder after 5 days. What is the dependent variable?

(A) Amount of birdseed eaten
(B) Amount of time feeders are outside
(C) Locations of the bird feeders
(D) Type of bird seed

That is true tge cactus as a structural adaptation to its envirinment has it leaves reduced to spines. but this doesnt mean it cant produce food it produces food because of the presence of chlorophyll in its stem

Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms. earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to earth (geology, meteorology, oceanogr maphy, etc).  although environmental and earth science cover essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological realm, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical realm.    environmental and earth science study the interactions of four major systems or “spheres” (figure 8.6).  the  geosphere  consists of the core, mantle and crust of the earth.the  atmosphere  contains all of the earth’s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.the  hydrosphere  contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on earth, extending from the depths of the sea to the upper reaches of the troposphere where water is found.  ninety-seven percent of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans, and the remainder is found as vapor or droplets in the atmosphere and as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and snowfields.  the  biosphere  is the collection of all earth’s life forms, distributed in major life zones known as biomes:   tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, temperate grassland, desert, savannah, tropical rainforest, chaparral, freshwater, and marine.although the four systems have their unique identities, there is substantial interaction between them.  environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other spheres. for example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct and indirect effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows: example 1 (volcano)    on may 18, 1980, mount saint helens, in the state of washington, erupted.  this event altered the surrounding environment, and provided scientists with an opportunity to study the effects of volcanic eruptions on the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.  such studies are vital because volcanic eruptions will continue to occur, and will have increasing impact on humans as people continue to settle lands closer to dormant volcanoes. the following are but a few of the myriad of interactions resulting from a volcanic 

Interacting group of various species in a common location. for example, a forest of trees and undergrowth plants, inhabited by animals and rooted in soil containing bacteria and fungi, constitutes a biological community.