Read the following argument carefully. Match each excerpt from the argument (on the left) with the statement that most accurately describes its structural role in the argument (on the right).
"Proponents of 'rewilding' argue that reintroducing apex predators to disturbed ecosystems will naturally restore ecological balance. They base this on the assumption that these ecosystems still possess the underlying carrying capacity to support such predators. This assumption, however, is demonstrably false. Decades of intensive agriculture have fundamentally altered soil microbiomes, drastically reducing the primary productivity that forms the base of the food web. Because of this reduction, herbivore populations cannot recover to historical levels. It follows that reintroduced apex predators would quickly exhaust their prey base and face starvation. Consequently, rewilding efforts that focus on apex predators without first restoring soil health are destined to fail. The true path to ecological restoration must therefore begin at the microscopic level."
- reintroducing apex predators to disturbed ecosystems will naturally restore ecological balanceA conclusion drawn by proponents of a policy that the author seeks to discredit.
- these ecosystems still possess the underlying carrying capacity to support such predatorsAn underlying assumption of the opposing view that the author identifies as empirically false.
- herbivore populations cannot recover to historical levelsAn intermediate conclusion drawn directly from the argument's core factual premise regarding environmental damage.
- rewilding efforts that focus on apex predators without first restoring soil health are destined to failA subsidiary conclusion that evaluates the likely outcome of the opposed policy, providing direct support for the author's final claim.
- The true path to ecological restoration must therefore begin at the microscopic levelThe ultimate conclusion of the argument, offering a prescriptive claim derived from the anticipated failure of an alternative strategy.