Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; there

Question

Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; therefore, all species that now inhabit them arrived by sea and by wind, including those that arrived by human means of dispersal. Due to the unique and remote location of the archipelago, some species, such as reptiles, were able to survive and thrive, while other species and groups, such as amphibians and mammals, are scarcely in evidence in the island chain. Thriving groups have produced species that are endemic to the archipelago: some 86% of its reptiles live nowhere else. Since the arrival of Darwin, blown by the wind and carried by the sea, the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity, a natural laboratory of species adaptation and evolution. Because of the distance of some 600 miles from the mainland, the original arrival of species, some by means of floating on a raft of algae, others by means of an against-all-odds long-distance swim, may seem a form of travail and triumph for some species. But today, the 600-mile distance seems far smaller as environmentalists worry about the invasive species that threaten the islands. For example, tiny fire ants that arrived with humans threaten the hatchlings of tortoises and some birds.
    1 
 1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?

(A) Darwin’s arrival at the Galapagos Islands had at least something in common with original species arrival. 
(B) The Galapagos island chain is a unique genetic environment for the study of species development. 
(C) Some species endured harsh salt, sun, and waves over a long distance before arriving in the Galapagos. 
(D) Human introduction of new species types has been injurious to island ecosystems. 
(E) Two distinct climate types are responsible, in part, for the extraordinary genetic diversity in the Galapagos.

2 
 2. The author mentions the idea of endemic species in order to

(A) help show why the Galapagos islands are unique as a laboratory for the study of species evolution. 
(B) explain further that endemic species are those that live only in the Galapagos archipelago. 
(C) suggest the reason why Darwin chose to focus his studies on the animals of the island chain. 
(D) examine the reasons why certain island conditions favored the adaptation of some species and not others.
(E) describe the evolutionary impact of certain species on the ever evolving ecology of the island chain.

3 
 3. Which of the following statements is most readily inferable from the information in the passage?

(A) The odds against survival on the islands were greatest for those life forms originating in temperate climates. 
(B) Galapagos reptiles outcompeted and displaced original amphibian populations. 
(C) When they rise from the sea, volcanic islands are completely devoid of life. 
(D) The odds in favor of survival on the islands were greatest for those species that were able to swim to the archipelago. 
(E) The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.

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Passage # 148 Date: 14-Apr-2021
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Sumi1010 · Answer

1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?

(A) Darwin’s arrival at the Galapagos Islands had at least something in common with original species arrival.
From the passage -  all species that now inhabit them arrived by sea and by wind. ..... Since the arrival of Darwin,  blown by the wind and carried by the sea   - This is supported.
(B) The Galapagos island chain is a unique genetic environment for the study of species development.
 Due to the unique and remote location of the archipelago ...  - Supported
(C) Some species endured harsh salt, sun, and waves over a long distance before arriving in the Galapagos.
  the original arrival of species, some by means of floating on a raft of algae, others by means of an against-all-odds long-distance swim , ... Supported
(D) Human introduction of new species types has been injurious to island ecosystems.
 Nowhere it's mentioned that human introduction of new species types has been  injurious   - Not supported
(E) Two distinct climate types are responsible, in part, for the extraordinary genetic diversity in the Galapagos.
 Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; therefore, all species that now inhabit them arrived by sea and by wind,...the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity,..  Supported

Hence Correct answer  D

2. The author mentions the idea of endemic species in order to

(A) help show why the Galapagos islands are unique as a laboratory for the study of species evolution.
 No thought on considering the islands as a laboratory. 
(B) explain further that endemic species are those that live only in the Galapagos archipelago.
 Most of them (but not all) live in the Galapagos archipelago. Example - 86% of its reptiles live there. 
(C) suggest the reason why Darwin chose to focus his studies on the animals of the island chain.
 The discussion on Darwin was to belittle the distance gap.Nothing to do with idea of endemic.  
(D) examine the reasons why certain island conditions favored the adaptation of some species and not others.
 The author didn't went down further to find the reasons favored the adaptations.  
(E) describe the evolutionary impact of certain species on the ever evolving ecology of the island chain.
This is the correct answer.

The passage just tells - 
 Due to the unique and remote location of the archipelago, some species were able to survive and thrive, while other species and groups, couldn't. Thriving groups have produced species that are endemic to the archipelago: some 86% of its reptiles live nowhere else.

Correct answer  E.

3. Which of the following statements is most readily inferable from the information in the passage?

(A) The odds against survival on the islands were greatest for those life forms originating in temperate climates.
 Nowhere is such comment specific to temperate climates. 
(B) Galapagos reptiles outcompeted and displaced original amphibian populations.
Not mentioned.
(C) When they rise from the sea, volcanic islands are  completely devoid  of life.
 Not mentioned .
(D) The odds in favor of survival on the islands were greatest for those species that were able to swim to the archipelago.
 Not the greatest.  
(E) The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.
  Because of the distance of some 600 miles from the mainland, the original arrival of species, may seem a form of travail and triumph for some species.  Correct

Correct answer  E

Adityasekar · Answer

Solved the passage in 4mins 15 seconds. Stumbled on this question. Narrowed down to A and E. Picked A

1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?

(A) Darwin’s arrival at the Galapagos Islands had at least something in common with original species arrival.
(B) The Galapagos island chain is a unique genetic environment for the study of species development.
(C) Some species endured harsh salt, sun, and waves over a long distance before arriving in the Galapagos.
(D) Human introduction of new species types has been injurious to island ecosystems.
(E) Two distinct climate types are responsible, in part, for the extraordinary genetic diversity in the Galapagos.

2. The author mentions the idea of endemic species in order to

(A) help show why the Galapagos islands are unique as a laboratory for the study of species evolution.
(B) explain further that endemic species are those that live only in the Galapagos archipelago.
(C) suggest the reason why Darwin chose to focus his studies on the animals of the island chain.
(D) examine the reasons why certain island conditions favored the adaptation of some species and not others.
(E) describe the evolutionary impact of certain species on the ever evolving ecology of the island chain.

3. Which of the following statements is most readily inferable from the information in the passage?

(A) The odds against survival on the islands were greatest for those life forms originating in temperate climates.
(B) Galapagos reptiles outcompeted and displaced original amphibian populations.
(C) When they rise from the sea, volcanic islands are completely devoid of life.
(D) The odds in favor of survival on the islands were greatest for those species that were able to swim to the archipelago.
(E) The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.

AnirudhaS · Answer

1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?
(A) Darwin’s arrival at the Galapagos Islands had at least something in common with original species arrival.
(B) The Galapagos island chain is a unique genetic environment for the study of species development.
(C) Some species endured harsh salt, sun, and waves over a long distance before arriving in the Galapagos.
(D) Human introduction of new species types has been injurious to island ecosystems.
 (E) Two distinct climate types are responsible, in part, for the extraordinary genetic diversity in the Galapagos.

For this question, it is not A as it is mentioned in the passage. The problem is people would still choose A as this is an highly unlikely answer, so it is always advisable to refer to the passage. The relevant portion of text -  "Since the arrival of Darwin, blown by the wind and carried by the sea, the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity, a natural laboratory of species adaptation and evolution."

SC knowledge is required here. The modifier "blown by the wind & carried by the sea" is modifying the noun "arrival".

____________________________________________________________

3. Which of the following statements is most readily inferable from the information in the passage?
(A) The odds against survival on the islands were greatest for those life forms originating in temperate climates.
(B) Galapagos reptiles outcompeted and displaced original amphibian populations.
 (C) When they rise from the sea, volcanic islands are completely devoid of life. 
(D) The odds in favor of survival on the islands were greatest for those species that were able to swim to the archipelago.
(E) The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.

The question is not as hard as you may think. Let us bust some myths with the top two faulty answers E & B.
Lets tackle E first. The problem is the underlined words in the option - The 600-mile distance to the mainland  continues to favor  the arrival and survival of certain species.
No it does not 'continue to favour'. The author refers to the 600 miles as not big enough, while he was making the point about invasive species. The answer is cleverly constructed by using text from the passage but is completely unrelated.

Now on to B. First of all it is nowhere claimed that the Galapagos reptiles displaced original amphibian population. Secondly, you might be using your outside knowledge of Evolution to infer this - which is not how you should approach a RC. And finally, let us see this part of the passage -  "Due to the unique and remote location of the archipelago, some species, such as reptiles, were able to survive and thrive, while other species and groups, such as amphibians and mammals, are scarcely in evidence in the island chain." 
You cannot really infer option B from this information can you? Yes its using the two facts stated in B, but it is not a Cause->Effect relationship.

The answer is C. 
Let us see the part of the passage -  "the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; therefore, all species that now inhabit them arrived by sea and by wind" 
Volcanic island --> that is the reason why all species immigrated from outside
What does that mean? No original inhabitants.

RahulHGGmat · Answer

Hi Expert,

I am still unable to understand why option A is not an answer to question no 1. As per my understanding, it cannot be inferred from the passage at all.

Request you to enlighten your expertise on this.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

While the two climate types, temperate and tropical, beg in the passage, nothing suggests their effects on genetic diversity. On the other hand, the passage says Darwin arrived by wind and sea, as species did,  choice (A) ; that some Galapagos species are endemic, or unique,  choice (B) ; that some species floated 600 miles to the islands,  choice (C) ; and that fire ants are just one example of how human-introduced species have harmed Galapagos species, choice.

The correct answer is (E).

AnirudhaS · Answer

thanks for your PM. I don't have much else to add than my answer. But I'll give it one more shot.

To start the question is a LEAST support question. Which means we are looking for 4 answer choices which are supported in the passage. Its actually picking out 4 and marking the 'odd' one out as your answer.

Next we come to this part in the passage - 
 "Since the arrival of Darwin,  blown by the wind and carried by the sea , the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity, a natural laboratory of species adaptation and evolution."

The modifier is underlined.

What is the modifier modifying? the arrival of Darwin. 
In simpler English this means - Darwin came to the Galapagos by a big ship. The ship "sailed" through the ocean to the Galapagos. A poet would write this journey as - blown by the wind and carried by the sea. The author might have a poetic inclination but that's not the point haha. Ok so we hold on to this that Darwin came via a ship which was blown by the wind and carried by the sea.

Now let us come to this part of the passage - 
 "Because of the distance of some 600 miles from the mainland, the original arrival of species,  some by means of floating on a raft of algae , others by means of an against-all-odds long-distance swim, may seem a form of travail and triumph for some species."

See the underlined portion describes some species arrived by floating on a raft of algae. It can be reasonably inferred that the raft was blown by the wind and carried by the sea.

So A is supported.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; there

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Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; there

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