Problem: Suppose that a population of insects is accidentally introduced to an island and they are consuming all the leaves of an endangered tree species on the island. Conservationists identify a virus that attacks and kills only this type of insect and they introduce it to the island. Within a year, the pest insect population has plummeted, but after a while it starts to grow again.
a) Suggest a reasonable explanation for this decrease, then recovery, of the insect population. In 1-3 sentences, be as explicit as you can in explaining what you think has happened.
b) Do you think the insect population is likely to stay high in the future? In 1-3 sentences, explain why or why not (there is no one right answer to this question, but you need to give a reasonable justification for whatever you predict for the future).