General GMAT Chat

Martin Cole’s 2020 Mediterranean sea biodiversity census reported approximately 12,000 species, nearly double the number reported in Bianca Morris’ 2010 census-a difference only partly attributable to the description of new invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the morphological variability is poorly understood compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and algae, creating uncertainty about how to evaluate micro organisms as species. Therefore, researchers’ decision on such matters can be highly consequential. Indeed, the two census reported similar counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that________
Which one of the following most logically completes the argument?
A) The absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among species of microorganisms may have resulted in Cole underestimating the number of microorganisms species
B) Cole reported a much higher number of species than did Morris largely due to the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Morris’ census
C) Some differences observed in microorganisms may have been treated as variations within species by Morris but were treated as indicative of distinct species by Cole
D) Morris may have been less sensitive to the degree of morphological variation displayed within a typical species of microorganism than Cole
E) The morphological variability is best understood compared to that of vertebrates