TPO 49 integrated writing task

The reading passage and lecture both explore the relations between the migration of humpback whales and star observation. While the author suggests some reasonable statements regarding this phenomenon, the lecturer does not view them as convincing arguments for the following reasons.
To begin with, the lecturer acutely identifies the weakness in the passage that these whales seem to be intelligent enough to navigate with stars. The lecturer points out that their well-developed brain and good cognitive skills have less relation to this behavior. Furthermore, in an attempt to establish a solid and concrete explanation, he cites ducks as an example. Ducks also use stars to navigate. Nonetheless, ducks are only at an average level of intelligence.
Second, instead of using stars as an external force to maintain the migration in a certain direction, as suggested in the article, the lecturer credits this special behavior to the magnetic field of the earth. He indicates that whales have a special function in their brains, helping them keep in a certain direction.
Last but not least, even though the author claims that whales apply the action termed “spy-hooping” to observe stars and navigate with their upper-looking heads. The lecturer alleges that it is a misconception. He believes that it has nothing to do with stars and migration. In addition, he illustrates that sharks do a similar behavior to hunting rather than navigating. Moreover, whales also perform this action during the daytime when stars are invisible in the sky. Accordingly, the lecturer disagrees that spy-hooping plays a role in the migration of humpback whales.