PrepTest 116, Section 2, Question 25
Burying beetles do whatever they can to minimize(51 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- ABurying beetles whose(20 more words not shown)
- BThe cooperation among(12 more words not shown)
- CBurying beetles are(14 more words not shown)
- DMany of the(18 more words not shown)
- EMost breeding sites(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why destroy the eggs but take care of the larvae?
The beetles aren't trying to reduce every brood. They try to reduce their competitors' broods without harming their own. If food is limited, killing a competitor's eggs could leave more food for their own offspring. That would fit the goal we're given.
But after the eggs hatch, the adults care for everyone equally. Maybe they can't tell whose larvae are whose. If a beetle doesn't know which larvae are its own, attacking them could hurt the very brood it wants to protect.
What we’re looking for
That's my prediction for the explanation question. We need something that connects both behaviors: destroying competitors' eggs and then caring for all the larvae. A reason cooperation is generally useful won't necessarily explain why the adults stop treating the two broods differently.
Working the answers
- A
This compares the eventual sizes of broods that hatch earlier and later. It doesn't explain why the adults destroy competitors' eggs but treat the hatched larvae equally. Earlier hatching might be advantageous, but we still need the missing connection between those two behaviors.
- B
Maximizing the total number of surviving larvae isn't the same as protecting one's own brood while reducing competitors' broods. Why would the adults suddenly start treating all offspring as equally worth saving? B describes a benefit of cooperation, but doesn't explain that change in behavior given the competitive goal.
- CCorrect
Once the eggs hatch, the beetles can't identify their own offspring. That makes attacking larvae risky: a beetle could destroy its own young while trying to destroy a competitor's. Caring for the whole population protects its own larvae too.
The beetles don't have to become less competitive. Their ability to target a competitor's offspring has changed. C explains why equal care can fit the same goal that previously led them to destroy eggs: reduce competition without harming their own brood.
- D
This explains why the adults might join forces to repel predators. It doesn't explain why they care equally for one another's larvae. They could cooperate against a common enemy and still harm competitors' offspring when the enemy wasn't present. We need a reason for equal care, not just coordinated defense.
- E
Limited space would give the beetles a reason to reduce competition, which fits destroying competitors' eggs. But it makes the later equal care at least as puzzling: why keep helping competitors' larvae occupy that limited space? E doesn't explain what changes after hatching.
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