GRE Reading Comprehension
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Source: CHP
One explanation for the tendency of animals to be more vigilant in smaller groups than in larger ones assumes that the vigilant behavior—looking up, for example—is aimed at predators. If individuals on the edge of a group are more vigilant because they are at greater risk of being captured, then individuals on average would have to be more vigilant in smaller groups, because the animals on the periphery of a group form a greater proportion of the whole group as the size of the group diminishes.
However, a different explanation is necessary in cases where the vigilant behavior is not directed at predators. J. Krebs has discovered that great blue herons look up more often when in smaller flocks than when in larger ones, solely as a consequence of poor feeding conditions. Krebs hypothesizes that the herons in smaller flocks are watching for herons that they might follow to better feeding pools, which usually attract larger numbers of the birds.
Question List: 1 2
The passage provides information in support of which of the following assertions EXCEPT?
- A Similar behavior in different species of animals does not necessarily serve the same purpose.
- B Vigilant behavior aimed at predators is seldom more beneficial to groups of animals than to individual animals.
- C The avoidance of predators is more important to an animal's survival than is the quest for food.