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Difficulty: EasyRecognizing Explicit Cause and Effect

For decades, biologists studying the high-altitude forests of the Andes observed a mysterious decline in the local population of the golden-backed tree frog. Standard hypotheses pointed to shifting temperatures or increased solar radiation at high elevations. However, a 2018 study revealed a far more direct ecological chain reaction. The construction of a new highway through the valley below had introduced a non-native predatory beetle to the region. These beetles, which thrived in the cleared roadside brush, gradually migrated up the slopes. Because the golden-backed tree frog relies on a specific species of mountain bromeliad for shelter, the frogs were highly vulnerable. The predatory beetles did not eat the frogs; instead, they fed voraciously on the bromeliad leaves, destroying the plants. Deprived of their only nesting sites and protection from predators, the frogs suffered a rapid population collapse. This simple disruption of the local flora highlights how human infrastructure projects can have devastating downstream effects on specialized montane species.

Based on the passage, the population of the golden-backed tree frog collapsed because of which direct cause?

  1. The beetles destroyed the mountain bromeliad plants that the frogs needed for nesting and protection.Answer
  2. B
    The rapid decline in the frog population caused a sudden migration of predatory beetles up the mountain slopes.
  3. C
    High-altitude temperatures shifted and solar radiation increased at high elevations.
  4. D
    Non-native predatory beetles directly fed on the frogs as their primary source of food.

Answer

The beetles destroyed the mountain bromeliad plants that the frogs needed for nesting and protection.
The correct option is supported directly by the text, which explains that the predatory beetles fed on the bromeliad leaves and destroyed the plants. Because the frogs relied on these plants for nesting and protection, their destruction directly caused the frog population to collapse.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate where the passage describes the collapse of the frog population.
The passage states that the frogs 'suffered a rapid population collapse' because they were 'deprived of their only nesting sites and protection.'
Identifying the target effect described in the question.
2
Identify the cause of this deprivation as explicitly stated in the sentence immediately prior.
The text explains that the beetles 'fed voraciously on the bromeliad leaves, destroying the plants' and that the frogs 'relies on a specific species of mountain bromeliad for shelter.'
Connecting the destruction of the plants by the beetles directly to the collapse of the frog population.

Key Concept

Recognizing Explicit Cause and Effect
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Topics

Recognizing Explicit Cause and Effect

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