Digital SAT Reading and Writing Practice Question #1279

Text 1 Ecologists have long championed the reintroduction of apex predators, such as gray wolves, as a panacea for degraded riparian ecosystems. According to the 'trophic cascade' hypothesis, wolves suppress overabundant elk populations through predation and the 'ecology of fear,' allowing overbrowsed willows and cottonwoods along stream banks to recover, which subsequently stabilizes soil and restores songbird habitats. Text 2 Geomorphologist Arthur Middleton and colleagues contend that the trophic cascade model oversimplifies Western river ecology. Decades of predator absence allowed beaver populations to collapse, which fundamentally altered river hydrology: water tables dropped below the rooting depth of young willow saplings. Middleton's field experiments revealed that even when browsing pressure was artificially eliminated using protective fencing, willow stands failed to regenerate unless stream hydrology and high water tables were independently restored. Based on the texts, how would Middleton and colleagues (Text 2) most likely respond to the claims of the ecologists described in Text 1?