Maria walks her dog through a field full of wildflowers. When she gets back home, and begins to brush her dog, she notices seeds of many of the plants sticking to her dog’s fur. She gently removes the seeds, and tosses them out into the yard. Which will most likely cause the greatest number of seeds to germinate and grow in her backyard?
A. an unfavorable biotic factor
B. competition with another kind of organism.
C. a mutualistic relationship with another organism.
D. environmental conditions that are outside the plant’s range of tolerance.

A biotic factor is the living component of the ecosystem. An unfavourable biotic factor for seeds can be birds which will consume them and hence hinder their growth. Even when the seeds start to germinate competition with other species for resources like water and nutrients in soil will again slow down the growth process. Environmental conditions like temperature and pH also need to be in tolerance range of the plant otherwise it will face difficulty in growing. Hence from the given options, a mutualistic relationship with another organism will cause the seeds to germinate. For example the plant can form mutualistic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria which will help the plant to obtain nitrogen for growth.