One possible reason that animals such as mice, moles, and rabbits have such rapid rates of reproduction is that they

• A. Serve as prey for many other animals
• B. Herbivorous
• C. Live together in burrows
• D. Are predators

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that these animals face high mortality because they are common prey for many predators, so natural selection favors reproducing rapidly to keep the population going. When predation risk is high, maturing early and producing many offspring in quick succession increases the chances that enough young survive to adulthood. Traits like short generation times and large litter sizes are typical of this strategy, allowing rapid population turnover even if many offspring don’t survive.

The other characteristics—being herbivorous, living in burrows, or being predators—don’t by themselves explain why such rapid reproduction is favored. Herbivory or burrowing can influence diet or habitat, but they don’t inherently require high reproductive output. Being a predator isn’t the driver here, since these animals are primarily preyed upon, not top predators.