PrepTest 142, Section 4, Question 26
Bird watcher: The decrease in the mourning-dove population(40 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AMourning doves were(13 more words not shown)
- BThe trees in(17 more words not shown)
- CBlue jays that(14 more words not shown)
- DMany residents of(18 more words not shown)
- EMourning doves often(4 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the doves lost their homes. But why settle on that explanation for the smaller population? What if cats moved into the neighborhood and started killing the birds? A shortage of nesting space is one possibility; it isn't the only one.
The orchard evidence gives us something more specific to work with. The doves used to build nests there, and they stopped after the sprinklers arrived. We can accept that change without knowing exactly why the sprinklers bothered them. The question is whether losing those particular nesting sites explains why there are fewer doves in the area.
Where else could they nest?
What if the orchards supplied only 1% of their nesting habitat? The birds could stop nesting in the orchards and still have plenty of suitable places nearby. That would make the move out of the orchards much less convincing as an explanation for the population drop. Losing one place to live isn't necessarily a serious housing shortage.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to strengthen the bird watcher's argument. I'd like to hear that these orchards provided all, or at least a large part, of the suitable nesting habitat. Then losing them would be a substantial problem for the doves, not just a reason to move to the next tree.
Working the answers
- A
Legal hunting gives us another possible explanation for the decline: people could be shooting the birds. That doesn't support the claim that lost nesting habitat caused the decrease. If anything, it gives us an alternative cause to investigate, much like the cats we imagined while reading.
- BCorrect
The orchard trees were the only type of trees in the area that attracted nesting mourning doves. That makes it much harder to dismiss the lost orchards as a small, easily replaced part of their habitat. Other trees could be available without being suitable substitutes for these birds. Losing access to the tree type they wanted to nest in gives the bird watcher's explanation real support.
- C
The blue jays stopped nesting there too. Okay, but where could the doves go instead? We already knew the doves had abandoned the orchards. Adding another bird species doesn't answer our concern that the doves might have plenty of suitable nesting places elsewhere. The same 1% objection still works.
- D
Food is available, so we might wonder why the birds aren't staying. But a feeder and a nesting site serve different needs. This doesn't tell us how much suitable nesting space the doves lost or establish that a shortage of that space explains their decline. B gives us that much more direct connection.
- E
Often nesting in fruit trees doesn't mean the doves lack other good places to nest. They could like fruit trees and also use plenty of other trees nearby. Compare that with B: B tells us the orchard trees were the only attractive type in the area. E leaves that crucial possibility of alternatives open.
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