Question 179·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Information and Ideas
Many bamboo species flower at intervals of decades, with entire populations blooming within a short period. Biologists have often attributed this synchrony to predator satiation, the survival advantage that occurs when a sudden abundance of seeds overwhelms seed-eating animals. In a simulation, this advantage favored progressively closer flowering schedules when the schedules initially differed only modestly. When the schedules began widely scattered, however, they did not converge. Field observations have also documented rare climate events that trigger flowering across many plants at once, abruptly reducing differences among their schedules.
Which choice most accurately summarizes the conclusion supported by these findings?
For a main-conclusion question combining multiple findings, determine what each finding establishes and then identify the choice that integrates them without reversing their roles or adding unsupported claims about priority, scope, or causation.
Hints
Examine the starting conditions
Compare what happened when the simulated flowering schedules began relatively close together with what happened when they began widely scattered.
Connect the evidence sources
Consider whether the field observations could supply a condition that the simulation requires.
Avoid unsupported causal claims
Be cautious of choices that rank one mechanism as primary, reverse their sequence, or assign them to separate populations without evidence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the simulation’s condition
The predator-satiation advantage tightened flowering schedules only when those schedules already differed by a modest amount. It did not align schedules that began widely scattered.
Connect the field observations
Rare climate events can trigger flowering across many plants at once, thereby reducing the initial differences among flowering schedules.
Synthesize the findings
A climate event could produce the degree of initial alignment required for predator satiation to become effective. The best conclusion therefore presents the mechanisms as sequential and complementary without assigning unsupported priority to either one.