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Difficulty: EasyPerspective of Mentioned Groups

The sudden extinction of large mammals at the end of the Pleistocene epoch has long puzzled paleontologists. While the author of a recent comprehensive study argues that a synergistic combination of human hunting and rapid environmental shifts drove these extinctions, a prominent camp of researchers known as 'climatic determinists' rejects the role of human influence entirely. These determinists contend that the warming trend at the end of the ice age fragmented essential habitats and disrupted established food webs, causing the megafauna populations to collapse long before human hunting could have had a significant impact. Consequently, they maintain that even if early humans had never migrated into these regions, the extinction of these large mammals was an inevitable ecological certainty.

Based on the passage, which of the following claims would the 'climatic determinists' most likely endorse? (Select all that apply)

  1. Environmental warming led to the fragmentation of habitats that large mammals relied upon for survival.Answer
  2. The extinction of Pleistocene megafauna would have occurred even in the complete absence of human migration into their territories.Answer
  3. C
    Human hunting acted in synergy with climate change to cause the collapse of megafauna populations.
  4. D
    Environmental shifts are the sole cause of every major extinction event in the paleontological record.
  5. E
    The warming trend at the end of the ice age prevented human hunters from having a significant impact on food webs.

Answer

The climatic determinists would endorse the claims that environmental warming caused habitat fragmentation, and that the extinctions would have occurred without human presence.
The correct options represent exact paraphrases of the climatic determinists' views as stated in the passage. The text explicitly notes that these researchers believe the warming trend fragmented habitats and that the extinction was inevitable regardless of human migration.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the target group in the passage.
The target group is the 'climatic determinists'.
The question stem specifically asks for the perspective of this group.
2
Locate the textual evidence outlining the determinists' perspective.
The text states they 'reject the role of human influence entirely', 'contend that the warming trend... fragmented essential habitats', and 'maintain that even if early humans had never migrated... extinction... was an inevitable ecological certainty'.
Direct textual evidence is required to accurately attribute beliefs to a mentioned group.
3
Evaluate each option against the located textual evidence.
Two options directly paraphrase the determinists' stated beliefs about habitat fragmentation and the irrelevance of human migration.
Since this is a multiple-select question, every option must be checked to see if it aligns with the group's specific stance.

Key Concept

Identifying explicit claims and beliefs attributed to a specific third-party group within a passage.
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Perspective of Mentioned Groups

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