What this student is doing is collecting data. So, he wants to check how many life forms there are in the waters nearby. In order to do so, he has to take a sample, and look at it through a microscope so as to determine the number. So, he collected a sample which is his data. He is not drawing conclusions yet, but rather counting these organisms. He is not making a peer review - his peers aren't even mentioned here. He is not forming a hypothesis because he is just counting at this point.
Answer:
The given blank can be filled with minimum viable population.
Explanation:
The MVP or the minimum viable population refers to the lowest number of individuals or the minimum density of the population of a species that can thrive in a specific region. The term is generally used in the fields of ecology, biology, and conservation biology.
The minimum viable population refers to the smallest probable size at which the population can prevail without encountering extinction due to demographic or natural disasters, genetic, or environmental stochasticity. Generally, MVP is utilized to signify towards a wild population, however, it can also be utilized for ex-situ conservation.
Vibrissae, more commonly known as whiskers, are sensory hair
that generally have a tactile sense, which is equivalent to skin. They grow on
most mammals except monotremes (duck-billed platypus and echidnas) and humans,
though humans still have remnants of the muscles once associated with vibrissae
in their upper lips. Vibrissae serve a number of purposes: such as sense of
touch; detection of danger, air and water currents, and movements of other
animals; and the locating of food.