Many different types of animals employ one of two strategies in raising their young. Certain animals, called “r-strategists,” turn out thousands of eggs with reckless profusion, but they let them look after themselves, or be devoured by enemies, as chance will have it. Other animals, called “K-strategists,” take greater pain in the rearing and upbringing of the young. Large broods indicate an “r” life strategy; small broods imply a “K” life strategy and more care in the nurture and education of the offspring. R-strategists produce eggs wholesale, on the off chance that some two or three among them may perhaps survive an infant mortality of ninety-nine per cent, so as to replace their parents. K-strategists produce half a dozen young, or less, but bring a large proportion of these on an average up to years of discretion.
Which of these animals can you infer the author would categorize as an r-strategist?
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Correct Answer: B
This question requires you to understand the main idea, that animals that produce more offspring are r-strategists and that those that produce a small number of offspring are called K-strategists. It also requires that you be able to take that idea and make a prediction about it. Finally, it requires you to have a basic understanding of a few types of animals. You know that any animal that has few young that it spends time caring for is deemed a "K-strategist" by the author, so that should rule out cats, birds, pigs, and wolves for you pretty quickly. Of these animals, only “frogs” let their little tadpoles fend for themselves and die by the hundreds. They would thus be considered r-strategists.