The passage given below has numbered blanks. Choose the word that best fits Blank 3.
Over the past decade, the sunflower sea star has gone from a predator of the Pacific Ocean to nearing extinction. The Nature Conservancy estimates that 5.75 billion sunflower sea stars died over three years, a 94% global (1)_________. The cause, scientists say, is largely climate change and warming waters, (2)_______ by sea star wasting disease. Hope is slowly on the horizon. The Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography near San Diego successfully (3)_____ three sunflower sea stars recently, the latest success story in a sprawling collaborative effort. TBA has five sunflower stars, one of the largest populations of sunflower stars in (4)______ in California. But until recently it did not know their gender. To determine the sex, researchers induced spawning. After further testing, they can determine whether the (5)________ could survive disease or parasites. Once that’s done, the aquarium will be able to begin the fertilization process.

Correct option is A

The correct option to fill in the blank is (a) spawned.
Explanation: The sentence is talking about the reproductive success of sea stars. The word “spawned” specifically refers to the release or deposit of eggs and sperm in aquatic animals, which fits the marine biological context of the passage. (स्पॉन करना – अंडे देना या प्रजनन करना)
Example: The salmon spawned in the river bed.
Other options and why they are incorrect:
· (b) instigated – to provoke or initiate something, usually conflict. (उकसाना)
· (c) produced – to make or manufacture; too general for reproductive context. (उत्पादन करना)
· (d) promoted – to encourage or advance something, not suitable for biological reproduction. (प्रोत्साहित करना)