What would be a probable explanation for why there are many endemic plants and birds in New Zealand, but no native mammals?
A. They were driven away by non-native mammals
B. Plants and birds would make ocean crossings to the isolated New Zealand islands, mammals could not
C. They were hunted to extinction by the Maori
D. The island habitats were not conducive to mammalian life
B. Plants and birds would make ocean crossings to the isolated New Zealand islands, mammals could not
This is the most likely explanation, as plants and birds are more easily dispersed across oceans through means such as wind, birds carrying seeds or spores, or floating on water. Mammals, on the other hand, do not have the same means of dispersal across large bodies of water and would have trouble reaching the isolated islands of New Zealand.