"Two studies of amphibians in Xanadu National Park confirm a significant decline in the numbers of amphibians. In 1975 there were seven species of amphibians in the park, and there were abundant numbers of each species. However, in 2002 only four species of amphibians were observed in the park, and the numbers of each species were drastically reduced. One proposed explanation is that the decline was caused by the introduction of trout into the park's waters, which began in 1975. (Trout are known to eat amphibian eggs.)"
Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument.
The author here has proposed an explanation for decreased number of amphibian species as well as their individual decrease. This piece of information, though interesting, is nonetheless not very convincing. More information is required to substantiate the claim that the decline is due to the release of trout in the waters of Xanadu National Park.
One of the questions that come first to the mind is: what kind of climatic conditions have been there during the span of 27 years from 1975 to 2002? As the living creatures are affected by the climatic conditions, this factor is needed to be considered. Different species of amphibian may have different reaction to changing climate. Increasing temperature may affect them adversely. It is very important to take into account the unfortunate effects of weather on individual species.
Another explanation for declining number of individuals may be the competition for food. As Xanadu being a National Park, there may be limited space for species to live. Being in a common place the amphibians may have vied for food. The apes are many a times known for killing one another for food. Being killed by the peers may be a probable cause for the decrease.
There could be other explanations too: As Xanadu is a National park, it has numerous visitors each day. The mindset of visitors for treating the amphibians affects their existence. Garbage thrown into water pond, kind of food supplied by visitors in the pond etc may have affected them. Moreover a research for a malady should be adopted. Maladies have destroyed many species before. The same reason may be for decrease in the number of amphibians in Xanadu National Park also.
Thus, there are many alternative explanations for the dramatic reduction of amphibians. Editor’s proposal stands inadequate due to lack of supporting evidence. Had he proven that the number of trout released was higher in numbers as compared to the number of amphibians in the water, his claim could be considered plausible. As author has failed to do so, his proposal is not able to convince readers.
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Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 4.5 out of 6
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 23 15
No. of Words: 346 350
No. of Characters: 1700 1500
No. of Different Words: 179 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.313 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.913 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.741 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 126 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 97 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 76 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 43 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 15.043 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 6.054 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.609 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.273 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.489 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.066 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5