Page 45 - UKCAT 2017

Two important sources of food for arctic foxes in Svalbard are Barnacle geese and reindeer carcasses. Numbers of Barnacle geese rose until 1994, when predation on nests by foxes left only 2 surviving goslings. Numbers of goslings then rose to over 600 in 1996, when no foxes were observed. There was a sharp rise in reindeer mortality in the winter of 1993/4, which led to a high number of carcasses, but lower numbers in the winter of 1995/6.
Fox numbers may be in uenced by the migration of foxes to other areas and/or by disease, but no studies were carried out to investigate this.
VR6-2 Which of the following cannot be inferred from the passage?
VR6-1 Which of the following is most likely to be true?
B. Low reindeer numbers led to the 1996 crash in the number of foxes.
C. Methods for estimating fox numbers are imprecise.
D. The variations in animal population numbers are cyclic.
VR6-3 Which of the following statements about the
disappearance of foxes in 1996 could be justi ed from the passage?
A. There is no relationship between the numbers of foxes captured, and those observed by local people.
A. B.
C. D.
The foxes died from starvation.
The foxes were subject to predation by other animals.
The foxes died from disease.
The foxes had all been trapped.
B. The numbers of foxes captured and those observed by scientists will be the same.
C. Where there are rodents, as numbers of rodents go up, so will the number of foxes.
D. Where there are rodents, as numbers of foxes go up, so will the number of rodents.
VR6-4 After 1973, which of the following seems the least feasible reason for the decline in observed foxes?
A. There were fewer trappers.
B. Trappers did not report their experiences in diaries after
1973.
C. Polar bears declined after 1973.
D. There were fewer carcasses
A. Foxes act so as to limit the number of Barnacle geese.
UKCAT Of cial Guide 2017 45
PRACTICE QUESTIONS