zoologists:

[\'manpreet singh]

The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.

a-The zoologists pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago, but they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.
b-There has been dramatic growth in recent years in the northern elephant seal population noted by the zoologists, although they also pointed out that hunters had nearly exterminated the seals 100 years ago.
c-Although northern elephant seals had been, according to the zoologists, nearly exterminated 100 years ago, they also noted that the seal population has grown dramatically in recent years.
d-Hunters had nearly exterminated the northern elephant seal 100 years ago according to the zoologists, but they also noted that there has been dramatic growth in the seal population in recent years.
e-Added to noting that the elephant seal population has grown dramatically in recent years, the zoologists pointed out that they had been nearly exterminated by hunters 100 years ago.

Ans A

[bharath2787]

i would go with A conveys the meaning correctly without any erros

B - is wordy, although they also is unidiomatic
C - Pronoun ref. error ---they may refer to elephent seals .. and wordy
D. Pronoun they seems to refer to hunters rather than zoologists.
E. Distorts meaning and Wordy

Could you tell me the source ?

Cheers!.

[vinay1983]

I am inclined towards A, just for the sake that it is correct as it is.Rest of the options are confusing and with modifier errors.

What is the source, you seem to belt out different Sc questions one after the other!(Pun intended)

[\'manpreet singh]

You guys did well, its a preety tough question btw.

The source is kaplan mock test.

[Anitesh]

Hi All,

Please clarify my doubt.
Is the tense sequencing correct in the second part of the original sentence?
"noted" -> Past
"Has grown" -> recent past.
The growth must have happened before it got noted. But according to the sentence the sequence is reversed.

This is like saying:
Mike "said" that Jhon "has eaten" the meal.
Asking the same question in another forum, I got one reply saying such construction is correct because the process of eating might have started before Mike "said" and "eating" process have continued till the recent present.

I am confused. Please help if i am missing something fundamental.

Thanks in advance.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Please clarify my doubt.
Is the tense sequencing correct in the second part of the original sentence?
"noted" -> Past
"Has grown" -> recent past.
The growth must have happened before it got noted. But according to the sentence the sequence is reversed.

This is like saying:
Mike "said" that Jhon "has eaten" the meal.
Asking the same question in another forum, I got one reply saying such construction is correct because the process of eating might have started before Mike "said" and "eating" process have continued till the recent present.

I am confused. Please help if i am missing something fundamental.

All the present perfect tense tells us is that an action began in the past and continues into the present - it doesn't set limits on when that action began in the past with respect to other past tense actions. Consider a simpler version of the sentence you've analyzed. "Yesterday I noticed that my grass has grown considerably." "Has grown" indicates that the grass began growing in the past and continues to grow in the present. "Noticed" indicates that I became aware of this phenomenon in the past. The sentence does not mean that I noticed the growth before it happened! Growth that began two weeks ago and that continues today will require a present perfect verb.