Grassland songbirds often nest in the same grassland-wetland complexes

Question

Grassland songbirds often nest in the same grassland-wetland complexes as waterfowl, particularly in a certain part of those complexes, namely, upland habitats surrounding wetlands. Although some wildlife management procedures directed at waterfowl, such as habitat enhancement or restoration, may also benefit songbirds, the impact of others, especially the control of waterfowl predators, remains difficult to predict. For example, most predators of waterfowl nests prey opportunistically on songbird nests, and removing these predators could directly increase songbird nesting success. Alternatively, small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators and can themselves be important predators of songbird nest. Thus, removing waterfowl-nest predators could affect songbird nesting success through subsequent increases in small-mammal populations.

In 1995 and 1996, researchers trapped and removed certain waterfowl-nest predators, primarily raccoons and striped skunks, then observed subsequent survival rates for songbird nests. Surprisingly, they observed no significant effect on songbird nesting success. This may be due to several factors. Neither raccoons nor striped skunks consume ground squirrels, which are important predators of songbird nests. Thus, their removal may not have led to significant increases in populations of smaller predators. Additionally, both raccoons and striped skunks prefer wetlands and spend little time in upland habitats; removing these species may not have increased the nesting success of songbirds in the uplands enough to allow detection.   1 
 A 
1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the role played by ground squirrels in the ecology of grassland-wetland complexes?

(A) While not important in the diet of raccoons or striped skunks, ground squirrels are a significant source of food for other waterfowl-nest predators. 
(B) Whereas ground squirrels are typically important as predators of songbird nests, their opportunistic predation on waterfowl nests also has an observable effect on waterfowl nesting success. 
(C) Although most waterfowl-nest predators prey on small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels, populations of ground squirrels tend to increase quickly enough to compensate for this level of predation. 
(D) Although ground squirrels have been known to prey on songbird nests, a larger portion of their diets is usually provided by predation on waterfowl nests. 
(E) Since larger predators tend to prefer small mammals to songbird eggs as a food source, a large population of ground squirrels plays an important role in controlling opportunistic predation on songbird nests.

2 
 C 
2. Which of the following best describes the function of the sentence “ Neither raccoons…songbird nests ” in the context of the passage as a whole?

(A) It raises questions about the validity of a theory described in the first paragraph. 
(B) It points out an oversimplification that is inherent in the argument presented in the first paragraph. 
(C) It introduces information that may help explain the results of the experiment that are presented earlier in the paragraph. 
(D) It provides a specific example of the type of data collected in the experiment described earlier in the paragraph. 
(E) It anticipates a potential objection to the conclusions drawn by the researchers involved in the experiment described earlier in the paragraph.

3 
 B 
3. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe some procedures used for wildlife management and consider some problems associated with the execution of those procedures
(B) outline a problem related to a wildlife management procedure and offer potential explanations for the results of an experiment bearing on that problem
(C) present experimental results that illustrate the need for certain wildlife management procedures and point out some inconsistencies in those results
(D) argue that a certain procedure used for wildlife management should be modified because of its unintended consequences
(E) propose that further experiments be performed to assess the long-term effects of certain wildlife management procedures

4 
 E 
4. The passage suggests that removing waterfowl-nest predators could possibly have a negative effect on songbird populations because

(A) songbird populations could then grow to unsustainable numbers
(B) small-mammal population could then move out of the uplands into wetland areas
(C) competition among remaining waterfowl-nest predators could decrease significantly
(D) a resulting increase in waterfowl populations could crowd out songbird populations
(E) a resulting increase in small-mammal populations could increase small-mammal predation on songbirds

5 
 B 
5. It can be inferred that the habitat preferences of raccoons and striped skunks affected the results of the experiment described in the passage for which of the following reasons?

(A) Songbird nests in the wetlands are usually located in places that most waterfowl-nest predators cannot reach.
(B) Raccoons and striped skunks are not usually found in areas where songbird nests tend to be located.
(C) Mice and ground squirrels tend to avoid predation by raccoons and striped skunks by remaining exclusively in the uplands.
(D) The populations of small mammals in the wetlands are usually controlled by larger waterfowl-nest predators such as raccoons and striped skunks.
(E) The waterfowl on which raccoons and striped skunks prey in the wetlands compete with songbirds for food.

GAngstA · Answer

hii experts,
despite knowing how to solve rc why i am stuck with rc?
plz provide some guidance ....

kntombat · Answer

GAngstA , I think you will find this article useful : https://blog.targettestprep.com/gmat-re ... sion-tips/

Raisakatyal · Answer

Can someone explain Q4 from this passage. Explanation in point (d) and (e)?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Read the last 4-5 lines of first paragraph:

Alternatively, small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators and can themselves be important predators of songbird nest. Thus, removing waterfowl-nest predators could affect songbird nesting success through subsequent increases in small-mammal populations.

These lines clearly lead to the answer  E

sm1510 · Answer

THANK YOU.. .extremely helpful. I had the same dilemma for A

BrightOutlookJenn · Answer

Hi  GAngstA ,

It's not unusual to feel stuck when trying to improve RC. Feel free to tag me or other experts on passages where you made errors, and talk us through your reasoning for your answer choices. Then we can try to help you identify what went wrong, hopefully help you see if that is a symptom of a larger problem, and give tips on how to address the larger problem.

Thanks!
Jennifer

saipk · Answer

For Q2
Reason for "why B is wrong?"

If you look at the line in 1st para,- " Alternatively, small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of  many  waterfowl-nest predators " - talks about many waterfowl-nest predators. 
Highlighted line in 2nd para talks about only 2 kinds of predators.
Because it is clearly mentioned as  many  in para 1, it cannot be considered oversimplification.

If the line in para 1 was restated as "ground squirrels are important diet of waterfowl-nest predators" (without  many ), then we could consider it oversimplified.

Hope my explanation is clear.

sanjitscorps18 · Answer

Tricky choices for Question 1. There is a tussle between A and E but I don't think either do a good job at covering the question.

Option A - This incorrectly makes a consideration in the passage a fact. That is truly a big leap for a GMAT question

Consideration - This   MAY   be due to several factors. Neither raccoons nor striped skunks consume ground squirrels, which are important predators of songbird nests.

The choice can be considered if the experiment definitely concludes that raccoons and striped skunks are out of scope of the squirrel predation

Answer Choice - While  NOT IMPORTANT  in the diet of raccoons or striped skunks, ground squirrels are a significant source of food for other waterfowl-nest predators.

Option E - 
Passage Reference - "most predators of waterfowl nests prey opportunistically on songbird nests, and removing these predators could directly increase songbird nesting success. Alternatively, small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators and can themselves be important predators of songbird nest."

1. Most predators are mentioned as opportunistic, meaning songbirds are secondary food choices. -  this somewhat explains the preference 
2. If we remove the small mammals from the group of all the predators, we get the large ones. In this scenario, the large predators would definitely prefer the the small mammals eg. ground squirrels to songbirds.

Additionally, 
"small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators"

Answer Choice E - Since larger predators tend to prefer small mammals to songbird eggs as a food source, a large population of ground squirrels plays an important role in controlling opportunistic predation on songbird nests.

I don't think we have much to choose among A and E. These answer choices should be reviewed, if possible, to give that final differentiating factor.

shrya · Answer

Can someone explain Q1 and Q5 in detail. I marked E and D respectively.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Click on the links provided below. For question #1 https://gmatclub.com/forum/grassland-so ... l#p2622348 For question #5 https://gmatclub.com/forum/grassland-so ... l#p2113996 Thank you!

TheBigBadFox · Answer

The primary purpose of the passage is to
• describe some procedures used for wildlife management and consider some problems associated with the execution of those procedures (WRONG - WHAT I SELECTED)
• outline a problem related to a wildlife management procedure and offer potential explanations for the results of an experiment bearing on that problem (CORRECT)
• present experimental results that illustrate the need for certain wildlife management procedures and point out some inconsistencies in those results
• argue that a certain procedure used for wildlife management should be modified because of its unintended consequences
• propose that further experiments be performed to assess the long-term effects of certain wildlife management procedures

The following helped me understand why the answer was B and not A.

A - Incorrect: 
Discusses some procedures is incorrect - there is only one procedure being discussed and that is being discussed at length (particularly there is an unintended effect that we are trying to control for).
Further, the second part of the sentence, incorrectly characterizes the passage as a execution of procedures. There was 1 problem/idea being discussed in para 1 and para 2 discusses an experiment that was carried out in the 90s which further delves into the problem with a potential explanation. Which procedure and what execution is being referred to is unclear

B- Correct: 
As per the above characterization, this correctly describes the main idea in the passage. There was a problem in predicting the effect of controlling for one variable in a grass-land wet complex. Scientists then conducted an experiment to try and understand this better with interesting results that help us understand the issue better.

pratishtha1210 · Answer

hi experts,

I am confused between A and B for primary purpose 
3. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) describe some procedures used for wildlife management and consider some problems associated with the execution of those procedures
I picked A because execution of procedure can be described as experiments

(B) outline a problem related to a wildlife management procedure and offer potential explanations for the results of an experiment bearing on that problem
I rejected B because it says a wildlife management procedure but there is this line in passage "Although some wildlife management procedures directed at waterfowl, such as habitat enhancement or restoration, may also benefit songbirds, the impact of others, especially the control of waterfowl predators, remains difficult to predict" so it is talking about procedures and some examples of that are being discussed further

Can you please shed some light on where i am going wrong

MartyTargetTestPrep 
 ParamjitDasGMAT   BrightOutlookJenn   ExpertsGlobal5 
 KarishmaB 
 EducationAisle

EducationAisle · Answer

Indeed tricky Pratishtha. However, notice that the text you have highlighted mentions "especially the control of waterfowl predators". Subsequently, the second para is dedicated to  this specific  wildlife management procedure (control of waterfowl predators).

LXIII63 · Answer

Hello  GMATNinja , @GMATNinjaTwo; could you please elaborate on your thought process in elimination for questions 1, 2 and 3.
Thank you!

GMATNinja · Answer

Questions 1, 2, & 3 
 
 Question 1 
 
Ground squirrels are mentioned twice in the passage. In the first paragraph, we learn that "ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators and can themselves be important predators of songbird nest." In the second paragraph, we learn that "neither raccoons nor striped skunks consume ground squirrels, which are important predators of songbird nests."

So we know that many waterfowl-nest predators, but NOT raccoons or stripe skunks, eat ground squirrels. Additionally, ground squirrels eat songbird nests.

This is exactly what we've discussed above, so (A) is looking good.

We have no idea whether ground squirrels opportunistically prey on waterfowl nests. (B) is out.

We don't know how quickly ground squirrel populations increase. Eliminate (C).

Again, we have no idea whether ground squirrels prey on waterfowl nests. Eliminate (D).

We know that larger predators "prey opportunistically on songbird nests," and also that "small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of many waterfowl-nest predators."

But which source of food do these predators tend to  prefer ? Songbird nests could be the tastiest option, but maybe it's more effort to find them, or there are just fewer around, etc.

Because we don't know what larger predators prefer, we can eliminate (E).

(A) is the correct answer to question 2.

Question 2 
 
Before this particular sentence, the author says that the "surprising" results of the experiment "may be due to several factors." So when the author goes on to say that "neither raccoons nor striped skunks consume ground squirrels, which are important predators of songbird nests," he/she is listed one of the factors that may explain the results of the experiment.

This fits really nicely with (C), which is the correct answer to question 2.

Question 3 
To answer primary purpose questions, first ask why the author wrote each paragraph:

Paragraph 1: the author  claims that a certain practice has an impact on songbirds that is "difficult to predict."  Sometimes removing waterfowl predators helps songbirds, while sometimes it hurts songbirds. 
 Paragraph 2: the author  discusses a research project exploring the impact of the practice on songbirds.  "Surprisingly," the experiment didn't affect songbirds that much.

So, why did the author write the passage?
 
There are a couple of issues with (A). First, the author really only "describes"  one  procedure (removing waterfowl predators), not "some" procedures. Second, (A) really only captures the intent of the first paragraph, and leaves out the second paragraph entirely.

Eliminate (A).
 
This one looks good! The author discusses how attempting to control waterfowl predators can create issues for songbirds. In the second paragraph, he/she explains why that practice didn't create these issues in a particular experiment.

Keep (B).
 
The experimental results in paragraph 2 didn't "illustrate the need for certain wildlife management procedures." The author was only interested in the fact that the experiment didn't impact songbirds. Additionally, the results of the experiment weren't "inconsistent."

(C) is out.
 
The author never advocates for a modified version of the procedure. He/she merely explains a potential problem and an experiment exploring that problem.

Eliminate (D).
 
Nope, the author never proposes that further experiments be performed.

(E) is out, and (B) is the winner for question 3.

TrungTiger · Answer

Dear  BrightOutlookJenn  and  RonPurewal

I total agree for the elimination of B,C,D,E choices. However, I am confused about word used in choice A.

" While not important in the diet of raccoons or striped skunks, ground squirrels are a significant source of food for  other  waterfowl-nest predators."

What I understand is: Ground Squirrels are not important in the diet of raccoons or striped skinds, but are a significant source of food for  THE REMAINING  water-nest predators. I understand  "other" mean "the remaining"

However, passage they are important in the diet of  MANY  predators: "Alternatively, small mammals such as mice and ground squirrels are important in the diet of  many  waterfowl-nest predators"

These word confuses me because I have seen many choices in RC are wrong due to the different meaning of quantitive word.

I look foward hearing your advices.

Best regards,
Trung

ramiav · Answer

I was puzzled by these RC questions for a while, finally, I ended with a "drawing" in my notebook to try to figure out the relationships between Songbirds, Waterfowl 
 Predators, Songbirds Predators, mice, Uplands, wetlands ...

1. 
There are two regions
Wetland and Upland. / The second surrounds the first.
Waterfowl and Songbirds usually nest in the Upland region.

-----------------------------------------
| ______ _____________ ______ |
| ______ | ____________ | ______ | 
| ______ | __ WETLAND __ | ______ | 
| ______ |____________| ___ * * | 
| ___ UPLAND * ___ * * ___ * *  ___ |
|----------------------------------------|
* are nests

2. Then there is some "food chain relationship"
===> Intensive
----> less intense
- · - ·> Opportunistic

Waterfowl nest Predators =======> Waterfowl nest
Waterfowl nest Predators - · - · - · - ·> Songbird nest
So if we remove the Waterfowl predators both nests should survive!

Waterfowl nest Predators =======> mice and ground squirrels
mice and ground squirrels ======> Songbird nest
So if we remove the Waterfowl predators, the mice and ground squirrels population is going to grow so the Songbird nest are going to be negative affected

---------------------

The experiment done by the researchers is:
Remove certain waterfowl-nest predators, primarily raccoons, and striped skunks
Then, They observed survival rates for songbird nests.
BUT -> Surprisingly, they observed no significant effect on songbird nesting success

What could be the explanation of this?
- Raccoons & Striped Skunks -> are Waterfowl nest Predators, BUT they don't eat Ground Squirrels so:

Raccoons & Striped Skunks ===/////===> mice and ground squirrels
mice and ground squirrels ======> Songbird nest

The Ground Squirrels population remains because this change doesn't affect the Ground Squirrels.

- "Additionally, both raccoons and striped skunks prefer wetlands and spend little time in upland habitats"
The removed animals usually live in the wetland area which is NOT the nesting area.

---------------------------------------
1 - A) As we saw above Squirrels are an important source of food for some waterfowl-nest predators but not for Raccoons & Striped Skunks
2 - C) This information is crucial to understand one of the reasons: Neither Raccoons, nor Striped Skunks consume Ground squirrels
3 - B) The experiment was unsuccessful because they removed the predators in the wrong area and those predators that don't affect the songbird's nest predators
4 - E)
As we see 
Waterfowl nest Predators =======> mice and ground squirrels
mice and ground squirrels ======> Songbird nest
If we remove the Watefoel nest predators the mice and ground squirrels population could grow affecting the Songbird nests

5 - B) 
The second reason says that Raccoons and striped skunks are usually found in Wetlands and not in Uplands

kelly_jacques · Answer

Could someone please help me with Question 3? I selected A given I did not feel that the passage outlined a problem related to procedure. They described wildlife management and how songbirds and Waterfowl habitat is interrelated. Then, they describe a problem in an experiment when they begin to execute on the procedure, which matches up well with "consider some problems associated with the execution of those procedures" Thus, I felt A was a much better representation. Please help! Thank you.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explained here in the best way possible https://gmatclub.com/forum/grassland-so ... l#p3037938 Good luck!

Shubhamgupta12 · Answer

Can somebody help me with explanation of primary purpose?

Grassland songbirds often nest in the same grassland-wetland complexes

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Grassland songbirds often nest in the same grassland-wetland complexes

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