PrepTest 152, Section 2, Question 8
When researchers discovered that cuttlefish have the ability(53 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- ACuttlefish feed primarily(5 more words not shown)
- BGroups of small(8 more words not shown)
- CSmall fish are(13 more words not shown)
- DCuttlefish have acute(7 more words not shown)
- EUnlike insects that(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why bother scaring fish that don't eat you?
When we first hear that a cuttlefish can suddenly look larger, deterring predators sounds plausible. Another possibility might be attracting a mate by displaying its size. But the study narrows what we're trying to explain: these displays are used only to scare small fish away, not to scare predators away.
What we’re looking for
Could those small fish bring trouble with them? If they attract animals that prey on cuttlefish, getting rid of the small fish could prevent a predator from arriving. The benefit would be indirect. That is my prediction for the explanation question: some reason the apparently harmless fish are worth driving away.
Working the answers
- A
If the small fish are food, why drive them away? This doesn't explain the observed behavior; it gives the cuttlefish a possible reason to want the fish nearby. We would need another connection to turn the food source into a reason for the display.
- BCorrect
The small fish attract the cuttlefish's predators. Scaring those fish away can therefore help keep the predators away too. The display needn't frighten a predator directly to serve a protective purpose. It can remove something that makes the area attractive to the predator, just as we predicted.
- C
This explains why the display might work better on small fish. It doesn't explain why the cuttlefish would want those fish gone. An action being effective at producing a result is different from that result being useful. We need a benefit of scaring the small fish, which B supplies.
- D
Sharp senses and color changes are additional abilities. The answer doesn't connect them to the decision to drive small fish away. Knowing more things a cuttlefish can do doesn't, by itself, explain the particular behavior at issue.
- E
Being fast enough to escape might help explain why a cuttlefish doesn't need to frighten a predator directly. But why does it use the display against small fish? The comparison with insects and the escape ability leave that question unanswered.
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