Задание

Read the text. What evidence do Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt present to support their theory of why the large trees of Rapa Nui disappeared? Choose the correct answer.

Did Polynesian rats destroy Rapa Nui's trees?

by Michael Kimball, Science Reporter

In 2005, Jared Diamond published Collapse. In the book, he described the human settlement of Rapa Nui (also called Easter Island).

The book caused a huge controversy soon after its publication. Many scientists questioned Diamond’s theory of what happened on Rapa Nui. They agreed that the huge trees had disappeared by the time Europeans first arrived on the island in the 18th century, but they did not agree with Jared Diamond’s theory about the cause of the disappearance.

Now, two scientists, Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt, have published a new theory. They believe that the Polynesian rat ate the seeds of the trees, preventing new ones from growing. The rat, they believe, was brought over either accidentally or purposefully on the canoes that the first human settlers used to land on Rapa Nui.

Studies have shown that a population of rats can double every 47 days. That’s a lot of rats to feed. To support their theory, Lipo and Hunt point to the remains of palm nuts that show the gnaw marks made by rats. Of course, they acknowledge that humans did play a role in the destruction of the forests of Rapa Nui. But they believe that the Polynesian rat was an even greater culprit among a series of factors.

The remains of palm nuts show gnaw marks made by rats.

The rats arrived on the island on settlers’ canoes.

The rats may have been brought by the settlers purposefully.

Rat populations can double every 47 days.