PrepTest 146, Section 3, Question 16
Babblers, a bird species, live in large cooperative(81 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- ABabblers fly much(8 more words not shown)
- BBabblers' predators are(7 more words not shown)
- CThere is more(9 more words not shown)
- DBabblers' predators have(7 more words not shown)
- EAnimals that live(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why announce, 'We're over here,' if the predator would otherwise miss you? The babblers' camouflage usually lets them feed unnoticed. Their calls give away the group's approximate location, and the calling continues even after most have hidden.
What we’re looking for
An alarm could help a bird that might otherwise get caught. But that alone doesn't explain the whole noisy chorus or why it keeps going after most birds have reached cover. To explain the behavior, we need some benefit that makes sense of alerting the predator rather than simply remaining quiet.
Working the answers
- A
Being able to fly away quickly could reduce the danger of being noticed. It doesn't give the birds a reason to announce their presence in the first place, especially when they could usually stay unnoticed while feeding. A explains a possible means of escape, not the advantage of the chorus.
- BCorrect
The chorus advertises the size of the group, and a large group intimidates the predators. Now being noticed can have an advantage: a predator hears many babblers and becomes reluctant to approach. The message is closer to 'There are a lot of us' than 'Here is an easy meal.'
That also helps explain why one bird's call prompts the others to join and why they continue after taking cover. The combined calls can keep announcing the group's strength even when the birds are hidden. We don't have to assume every predator always retreats; intimidation makes the otherwise puzzling behavior understandable.
- C
Having several kinds of predators doesn't explain why calling helps against any of them. One predator or several, the question remains why the birds reveal a location their camouflage would otherwise conceal.
- D
We still have to accept the stated facts: the babblers usually go unnoticed until the calls alert the predators. Good eyesight doesn't cancel effective camouflage, and relatively weak hearing doesn't mean the predators can't hear these loud calls. D doesn't identify a benefit that would explain continuing to call.
- E
Other animals nearby might also benefit from a warning, but E doesn't say that helping them protects the babblers. Nor does it explain why the babblers keep up a chorus after most have taken cover. Sharing predators with another species doesn't, by itself, resolve the cost of revealing the group's location.
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