- Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:36 pm
#76670
Sure thing, Andrés! Answer C tells us only something about the relative effects of the startle display on small fish vs predators, but nothing about WHY cuttlefish do it. The paradox here is that the small fish they are scaring away are not predators of the cuttlefish, but for some unknown reason the cuttlefish don't want these little guys hanging around. Why is it important for them to scare the little fish away? Answer C gives us no help - we still don't know why they want to scare the little fish, only that it is easier to scare them than to scare predators.
Answer B solves the mystery - they want to scare away small fish because small fish might attract predators. It's a preemptive move to keep predators from showing up, rather than to scare away predators that have already arrived. Now their use of the startle display makes sense! It's the cuttlefish saying "shoo, you're going to give away my position! Don't blow my cover!"
Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT, GRE, ACT and SAT Instructor
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