North American gray wolves usually have mixed gray and white fur, but some members of the species have a version of a gene, or gene variant, that gives them a mostly black coat instead. Sarah Cubaynes and her team studied twelve populations of North American gray wolves. They found that the black-furred wolves are more common in areas where outbreaks of distemper virus happen regularly. The team also discovered that the black-furred wolves are more likely to be immune to distemper than the gray-furred wolves are. Taken together, these findings suggest that ______blank
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Choice B is the best answer. The text tells us that the black-furred wolves are more common in areas with regular outbreaks of distemper virus and are more likely to be immune to distemper than the gray-furred wolves. This suggests that the gene variant that results in black fur may be linked to immunity to the distemper virus.
Choice A is incorrect. The text never compares North American gray wolves to other wolf species—in fact, it never discusses other wolf species at all, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The life span of gray wolves is never mentioned in this text, so we have no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. This is too extreme. The text says that "black-furred wolves are more likely to be immune to distemper than the gray-furred wolves," but that alone doesn’t mean that black-furred wolves will replace gray-furred wolves across North America.
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