If in a pond there were 50 water lily plants last year and through reproduction 15 new plants are added this year, the birth rate in the population is ____ offspring per water lily per year.

Step-by-step solution

Initial population of water lily plants, N = 50 Number of new plants added through reproduction, N = 15 Time period, t = 1 year Birth rate is calculated as the number of new individuals produced per unit of the initial population per unit time. Birth rate = N N t Birth rate = 15 50 1 = 0.3 offspring per water lily per year. Answer: 0.3