PrepTest 151, Section 3, Question 17
Traditional hatcheries raise fish in featureless environments and(60 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AIt is economically(16 more words not shown)
- BThe quality of(16 more words not shown)
- CSome fish raised(14 more words not shown)
- DHatchery-raised fish that(15 more words not shown)
- EFish in the(7 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Being bolder could help a fish find food. It could also put the fish in front of a predator. The experiment tells us the fish explore new places and try unfamiliar foods more readily; it doesn't yet tell us whether that behavior helps them stay alive.
What we’re looking for
That's the gap when the author concludes the experimental-hatchery fish are more likely to survive. For a required assumption, I'd look for a survival advantage from their greater boldness. We need the difference in behavior to matter to the outcome, rather than simply assuming that a more adventurous fish is a more successful fish.
Working the answers
- A
The hatcheries' costs don't determine whether the fish have the claimed survival advantage once raised and released. The experiment might be expensive and still produce fish more likely to survive. The conclusion is about that effect, not whether operators can afford to adopt the method widely.
- B
This concerns the environments into which the fish are released, not the environments in which the hatcheries raised them. Release conditions could have a large effect on survival while the more adventurous fish still enjoy an advantage. The argument doesn't require those outside conditions to have little influence.
- CCorrect
This identifies a survival cost of the traditional fish's behavior: some die because they are too timid when seeking food. That supplies a problem the experimental fish's greater willingness to explore and try food could remedy.
The argument treats boldness as a reason for expecting improved survival. C makes the other side of that connection concrete: inadequate boldness costs some fish their lives. It doesn't say every timid fish dies or every bold fish survives. It establishes a relevant survival disadvantage of the behavior being changed, rather than merely another difference between the groups.
- D
Trying new foods could help without eating many different types being required. A fish might survive on one suitable food if it is willing to explore far enough to find it. The argument needs a benefit from bold foraging, not a universal requirement for a varied diet.
- E
The wild doesn't have to be visually stimulating at every moment for early stimulation to affect later behavior. The experiment links that upbringing with greater boldness. The proposed survival advantage could exist in varied release environments, including some that aren't visually stimulating.
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