Logical Reasoning

PT149 · S1 · Q10 One adaptation that enables an animal

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One adaptation that enables an animal species to survive despite predation by other species is effective camouflage.

Given that ...

Camouflage helps some species elude predation

How can it be that

Some prey species with few or no other adaptations to elude predation have endured for a while with black-and-white coloration that seems unlikely to provide effective camouflage?

Evaluate / Goal

I'm gonna level with you right away. This is maybe Top 3 of my least favorite problems. I think it's hot garbage from top to bottom. So take this explanation as, "Here's how LSAC might try to explain this", but it does not represent me condoning it.

Based on the paragraph I would have been thinking, And so I would be looking for an answer that explained how they could survive for a long time, given that they have generally ineffective camouflage and few or no other adaptations.

But apparently LSAC wanted us to be thinking,

10.

Which one of the following, if true, most contributes to a resolution of the apparent discrepancy mentioned above?

  1. Most species with black-and-white coloration

    Too Weak

    We might have thought, "well, they have no adaptations to counteract predation, but because they're more populous than the species that prey upon them, they've been able to survive for a long time". For example, cicadas come out of the ground every 17 years or so, in such staggering numbers that even though squirrels and birds and other animals feast on as many cicadas as they can eat, there are enough cicadas that still live to mate / reproduce, and keep the species going. But this answer isn't saying that they're the black-and-white creatures are way more populous, such that the predators would get full or tired before decimating the prey population. We'd be adding too many of our own assumptions to make this answer work.

    20% picked this

  2. No form of camouflage is

    Too Weak Unrelated to Goal

    This is a super weak answer, since it just says "there at least one form a camouflage that is not 100% effective against 100% of predators". But that is kind of an obvious given about the world, kinda like no medicine is completely effective against all kinds of illnesses. More importantly, this is an answer about a species that has camouflage but not protection from predators. We're trying to solve a mystery about species that don't seem to camouflage but do have protection from predators.

    2% picked this

  3. Correct

    Animals of many predatory species

    Why this is right

    This answer is supposed to be communicating, "these black and white species really DO have effective camouflage! Even though their coloration seems (to human perception) to be unlikely to provide effective camouflage, to many animals species, their perception of color and pattern might be such that to them this black and white coloration is effective camouflage." Where do I begin with my problems with this answer choice? - when I read in an LSAT paragraph that these species have coloration that seems unlikely to provide effective camouflage, I am assuming that this is a FACT coming from a source that is informed about the animal kingdom, not an uninformed opinion by someone who just looks at black and white and says "I reckon that wouldn't be good camouflage". - it seems like a high percentage of us (maybe even a majority) already know what (C) is saying. It doesn't provide any new information, because it is already thoroughly within normal common sense that there are differences in how animals of different species perceive color and pattern. - the intended logical force of this answer is only very weakly suggested by the actual language of the answer. There's a big gap between "many animals perceive color/pattern differently from how humans do" and "these animals find this black and white coloration difficult to discern". My recommendation for all of us is to ignore this question ever existed. There is nothing to learn here except the humility that comes with knowing that the test writers sometimes just write terrible questions that we can't blame ourselves for not finding our way through.

    Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    65% picked this

  4. Conspicuous black-and-white areas help animals

    Unrelated to Goal

    We're not interested in how this B&W coloration relates to how these species deal with other members of their species. We're only interested in how this B&W coloration relates to how these species manage to evade predation.

    4% picked this

  5. Black-and-white coloration is not as

    Unclear Impact

    This might be useful if we knew that these species were purely nocturnal, and thus their black and white coloration was still provided some camouflage at night, but we don't know if they're nocturnal. Also, saying "not as great a liability" is not the same as "NOT a liability", so it's still a pretty weak explanation for how they're able to avoid predation.

    10% picked this

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