"Hot spot" is a term that ecologists use to describe those habitats with the greatest concentrations of species found...

Lucas on June 11, 2020

actually in some odd diagram, I got back to B? as the answer

Skylar on June 11, 2020

@Lucas, happy to help!

(B) is correct. The passage tells us that habitat loss threatens hot spots, which are home to endemic species that account for most modern-day extinctions. Knowing that we need to pick our battles, it would be reasonable for organizations looking to preserve species to....

We want to fill in this last sentence with something that connects the information from the passage to make a claim. (B) does this. It states that the organizations should "concentrate their resources on protecting hot spot habitats." This ties in the idea that hot spots have species in one place and account for most extinctions, so they should be high priority if only a limited number of environmental battles can be waged.

(A) "try to help only those species who are threatened with extinction because of habitat loss"
This is incorrect because it is too extreme. The word "only" makes this answer choice stronger and more specific than we can reasonably assume the passage would support.

(E) "expand the definition of 'hot spot' to include vulnerable habitats that are not currently home to many endangered species"
This is incorrect because it goes beyond the scope of the passage. What action would expanding the definition of the term have? Why would we want to expand the definition when we only have a limited number of battles to wage? We do not have enough information to support this answer choice.

Does that make sense? Hope it helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.