A biologist counts the number of rabbits in a population each year and observes a decrease in population. Since the coyote population has exploded, the biologist concludes that the coyote population has had a negative impact on the rabbit population. Which describes the biologist’s actions?

The biologist observes that the rabbit population is decreasing and uses the increase in coyotes to explain why. Drawing a conclusion from observations is making an inference. The biologist is not conducting an experiment, which would involve testing a factor under controlled conditions.

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