the male sage

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the male sage

by geet » Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:16 pm
The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.
Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?
(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.
(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.
(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.
(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.
(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

OA is D...plz do explain!
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by sasen » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:23 am
Onli D provides a link between the infaled air sacs and healthiness....
if u notice other options are realli not making this connection

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by raghavsarathy » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:59 am
The main statement says that the females decide on courtship after looking at the inflated air sacks in the neck.

A statement which would support this should give us some information as to how the female grouse will indeed be able to find out non-healthy male grouse by looking at their neck. Some prominent mark or something.This is supported in D.

Or in another sense the main statement would be weakened if the weak male grouse is infected in some other body part and not the neck. In such a situation ,the female grouse cannot choose a helathy male by looking at the neck.

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Re: the male sage

by rahulg83 » Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:47 am
geet wrote:The male sage grouse has air sacs that when not inflated, lie hidden beneath the grouse’s neck feathers. During its spring courtship ritual, the male sage grouse inflates these air sacs and displays them to the female sage grouse. Some scientists hypothesize that this courtship ritual serves as a means for female sage grouse to select healthy mates.
Which one of the following, if rue, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis?
(A) Some female sage grouse mate with unhealthy male sage grouse.
(B) When diseased male sage grouse were treated with antibiotics, they were not selected by female sage grouse during the courtship ritual.
(C) Some healthy male sages grouse do not inflate their air sacs as part of the courtship ritual.
(D) Male sage grouse are prone to parasitic infections that exhibit symptoms visible on the birds’ air sacs.
(E) The sage grouse is commonly afflicted with a strain of malaria that tends to change as the organism that causes it undergoes mutation.

OA is D...plz do explain!
yes D for me as well...
Female will inspect male grouse. Now if symptoms are visible on the birds' air sacs, that male will get the boot :)..healthy males will not have symptoms of parasitic infections on the air sac.
BTW, very good question..Initially i completely ignored this option, but when realized no other option is also viable, rechecked again..

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by micheal_kr » Sun May 15, 2016 10:57 pm
I'm going with D. No confidence on my answer