In recent years, honeybee colonies throughout North America have been decimated by the rapid death of worker bees, a disorder termed colony collapse disorder (CCD). First noticed by beekeepers in 2004, the disorder has been responsible for the loss of 50% to 90% of beekeeping operations in the United States. Evidence suggests that CCD is caused by a pathogen. Diana Cox-Foster and her colleagues (2007. Science 318:283-287) used a metagenomic approach to try to identify the causative agent of CCD by isolating DNA from normal honeybee hives and from hives that had experienced CCD. A number of different bacteria, fungi, and viruses were identified in the metagenomic analysis. The following table gives the percentage of CCD hives and non-CCD hives that tested positive for four potential pathogens identified in the metagenomic analysis. On the basis of these data, which potential pathogen appears most likely to be responsible for CCD? Explain your reasoning. Do these data prove that this pathogen is the cause of CCD? Explain. What would be good evidence that supports the hypothesis that this pathogen is the cause of CCD? Potential pathogen: % of CCD hives infected (n = 30) % of non-CCD hives infected (n = 21) Israeli acute paralysis virus 83.3% 4.8% Kashmir bee virus 100% 76.2% Nosema apis (microsporidian) 90% 47.6% Nosema cernae (microsporidian) 100% 80.8%