Imagine you are a baker who is trying to optimize production of a new bread you are selling To do so, you are studying growth rates in a population of yeast, which are single-celled eukaryotes used to make bread. You calculate the finite growth rate (A) of the yeast population after 6 hours of incubation and find it is approximately 0.867. Which conclusion can you make about this yeast population? The population size decreased because A is less than 1. The population size increased because A is greater than 0.5 The population size decreased because A is less than 100 The population size increased because A is positive. The population size did not change because A is less than 1

The correct conclusion is: **The population size decreased because λ is less than 1.**<br /><br />Here's why:<br /><br />* **Finite Rate of Increase (λ):** λ represents the proportional change in population size from one time period to the next. <br />* **λ = 1:** The population size remains stable. Births and deaths (or immigration and emigration) balance each other out.<br />* **λ > 1:** The population is growing. Births (or immigration) exceed deaths (or emigration).<br />* **λ < 1:** The population is declining. Deaths (or emigration) exceed births (or immigration).<br /><br />Since your calculated λ is 0.867 (less than 1), the yeast population is decreasing in size.<br />