Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational inference that can be drawn from the passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Elephants are the keystone species and they benefit the biodiversity.
Elephants make clearings, check overgrowth, spread seeds, enrich the soil with dung and dig water holes, and each of these helps other plants and animals. A species whose activities shape the whole ecosystem in this way is a keystone species that benefits biodiversity.
- ✗ (a) The size or richness of the elephants' home range is not discussed.
- ✓ (b) Every example shows elephants sustaining other plants, herbivores, insects and wildlife — the role of a keystone species.
- ✗ (c) 'Cannot be maintained without elephants' goes too far; the passage shows benefit, not that biodiversity is impossible without them.
- ✗ (d) Regeneration is a side-effect of their feeding and movement; 'as per their requirement' implies a deliberate design the passage never claims.
Remember · Choose the inference that sums up all the examples; reject 'cannot', 'only' and intentions the passage never attributes.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·