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Information and IdeasVery hardMain idea of an ecology passage

Information and Ideas practice question

A reintroduced species can be counted, and rising counts are usually read as success. But a population can persist without resuming the interactions that once made it ecologically important: scavengers may ignore carcasses they no longer compete for, and seed dispersers may feed where no forest can regenerate. Some ecologists therefore argue that a reintroduction succeeds only when the species' old interactions — not merely its numbers — return.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. Counting animals can overstate the success of a reintroduction if the species' ecological role is not restored.Correct
  2. B. Reintroduced species usually fail to survive in their former habitats.
  3. C. Ecologists have no reliable methods for evaluating reintroduction programs.
  4. D. Reintroduction programs should be judged over longer time spans.

Answer: A. Counting animals can overstate the success of a reintroduction if the species' ecological role is not restored.

The passage's argument is that population counts alone can mislead — a species can persist without resuming the interactions that made it matter. Choice A states exactly that.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Reintroduced species usually fail to survive in their former habitats.
The text's example is a population that survived and grew; failure to survive is not the issue.
C. Ecologists have no reliable methods for evaluating reintroduction programs.
The text proposes a better measure (restored interactions), so it does not claim evaluation is impossible.
D. Reintroduction programs should be judged over longer time spans.
The text contrasts what is measured, not how long the measuring lasts.

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