Carotenoids, A Family of Natural Pigments, Form an Important Part of the Colorful Signals Used by Many Animals GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Carotenoids, a family of natural pigments, form an important part of the colorful signals used by many animals. Animals acquire carotenoids either directly (from the plants and algae that produce them) or indirectly (by eating insects) and store them in a variety of tissues. Studies of several animal species have shown that when choosing mates, females prefer males with brighter carotenoid-based coloration. Owens and Olson hypothesize that the presence of carotenoids, as signaled by coloration, would be meaningful in the context of mate selection if carotenoids were either rare or required for health. The conventional view is that carotenoids are meaningful because they are rare: healthier males can forage for more of the pigments than can their inferior counterparts. Although this may be true, there is growing evidence that carotenoids are meaningful also because they are required: they are used by the immune system and for detoxification processes that are important for maintaining health. It may be that males can use scarce carotenoids either for immune defense and detoxification or for attracting females. Males that are more susceptible to disease and parasites will have to use their carotenoids to boost their immune systems, whereas males that are genetically resistant will use fewer carotenoids for fighting disease and will advertise this by using the pigments for flashy display instead.

“Carotenoids, A Family of Natural Pigments, Form an Important Part of the Colorful Signals Used by Many Animals GMAT Reading Comprehension” is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 5 comprehension questions and related answers. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions check the candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. According to the “conventional view” referred to in line 13 of the passage, brighter carotenoid-based coloration in certain species suggests that an individual

(A) lives in a habitat rich in carotenoid-bearing plants and insects
(B) has efficient detoxification processes
(C) has a superior immune system
(D) possesses superior foraging capacity
(E) is currently capable of reproducing

2. The idea that carotenoid-based coloration is significant partly because carotenoids are required for health suggests that a lack of bright coloration in a male is most likely to indicate which of the following?

(A) Inefficient detoxification processes
(B) Immunity to parasite infestation
(C) Low genetic resistance to disease
(D) Lack of interest in mating
(E) Lack of carotenoid-storing tissues

3. The passage suggests that relatively bright carotenoid-based coloration is a signal of which of the following characteristics in males of certain animal species?

(A) Readiness for mating behavior
(B) Ability to fight
(C) Particular feeding preferences
(D) Recovery from parasite infestation
(E) Fitness as a mate

4. The passage implies which of the following about the insects from which animals acquire carotenoids?

(A) They do not produce carotenoids themselves.
(B) They use carotenoids primarily for coloration.
(C) They maintain constant levels of carotenoids in their tissues.
(D) They are unable to use carotenoids to boost their immune system.
(E) They are available in greater abundance than are carotenoid-bearing plants.

5. Information in the passage suggests that which of the following is true of carotenoids that a male animal uses for detoxification processes?

(A) They were not acquired directly from plants and algae.
(B) They cannot be replenished through foraging.
(C) They cannot be used simultaneously to brighten coloration.
(D) They do not affect the animal's susceptibility to parasites.
(E) They increase the chances that the animal will be selected as a mate.

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