Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): When a host fish species becomes extinct, its unique assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate. Reason (R): This is an example of co-extinction, where the extinction of one species inevitably leads to the extinction of another species associated with it in an obligatory way. In the light of

Step-by-step solution

According to NCERT, when a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it in an obligatory way also become extinct. This phenomenon is known as co-extinction. The assertion correctly states an example from NCERT: when a host fish species goes extinct, its unique assemblage of parasites also becomes extinct because they cannot survive without their specific host. The reason correctly defines co-extinction and explains why the parasites meet the same fate as the host fish. Therefore, both th