Water flowing around an obstruction creates vortices (patterns of swirls) of varying size; by detecting the vortices, fish can determine the size and position of the obstruction. Testing by Yuzo R. Yanagisuru, Otar Akanyeti, and James C. Liao using models of three head shapes-narrow (low ratio of width to length), intermediate, and wide (high ratio of width to length)- showed that for large vortices, fish with intermediate heads would be better able than wide-headed fish to distinguish between vortices and general turbulence in the water. A second research team has therefore hypothesized that in low-visibility conditions, intermediate-headed fish will be more likely than wide-headed fish to detect obstructions that create large vortices.
Desmos Graphing Calculator
Verbal·Information and Ideas·Command of Evidence
mediumWhich finding, if true, would most directly support the second research team’s hypothesis?
A
A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that the intermediate-headed black sea bass (Centropristis striates) bumped into the obstructions just as often as the wide-headed Synodontis macropunctata did.
B
A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that the wide-headed Synodontis macropunctata bumped into obstructions more often than the intermediate-headed black sea bass (Centropristis striates) did.
C
A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that some specimens of the intermediate-headed black sea bass (Centropristis striates) bumped into the obstructions more often than other specimens of the same fish did.
D
A study using obstructions that created large vortices in low-visibility conditions found that the Synodontis macropunctata, which has a relatively wide head, bumped into more than half of the obstructions.