For a species of large abalone shellfish to develop from a species of smaller ones, they must spend less energy on finding food and avoiding predators, and more on competition in mating. So it is surprising that the fossil record shows that a species of large abalones developed from a smaller one only after otters, which prey on abalones, began to dominate the waters in which the abalones lived.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?

Correct answer marked below

Otters and abalones also compete for the same types of food and so are drawn to the same waters.

The fossils that were studied showed the development of only one of the two species of large abalones known to exist.

Otters also prey on the abalones' competitors for food and so indirectly make it easier for abalones to get food.

Correct

Small abalone species tend to reproduce more rapidly than larger abalone species.

Otters have a preference for large abalones over small ones and so prefer waters in which large abalones are found

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What this question tests

Whether you can explain an apparent contradiction in a way that makes both facts true.

Picking an option that explains one side of the paradox while making the other side false.