Sentence Correction

The bowerbirds of Australia derive their name from the fact that the males build elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs to attract females, decorating them with flowers and other vegetation in a display of courtship

Choices

the elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs that the males build and decorate with flowers and other vegetation in order to attract females
- This is the OA.

the elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs, decorated with flowers and other vegetation that the males use to attract females.
Want to discuss this choice along with the above OA with respect to usage of 'that'.

The questions is not with respect to the right answer, I want to clarify a basic doubt here. Can the pronoun 'that' refer to compound subjects.

Here 'flowers and other vegetation' is referred to by 'that'.

Similarly what happens to a phrase (prepositional phrase) with the 'of' construction
"one of the many aspects of the ocean environment that (is/are)"
In the above sentence does 'that' refer to the nearest noun which in this case is 'environment' or to the whole phrase.
Also can 'that' pronoun refer to aspects in the above sentence.
For a moment let us forget it is of the construction 'one of the Xs that" so the verb must be plural. I am curious to know what is 'that' referring to.

The OA is perfectly fine:
The bowerbirds of Australia derive their name from the elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs that the males build and decorate with flowers and other vegetation in order to attract females in a display of courtship.

As to your doubt:
The bowerbirds of Australia derive their name from the elaborate bowers of sticks and twigs, decorated with flowers and other vegetation that the males use to attract females in a display of courtship.

Here, the problem is not with 'that' modifying a compound subject but with the placement of the modifier. The modifier, that the males use... should modify sticks and twigs. In the above answer choice, it seems to be modifying flowers and other vegetation. This is clearly incorrect.

The pronoun that can refer to compound subjects. One example is the correct OA mentioned above. [that the males build is modifying sticks and twigs].
Another example - Abuses and accusations that were being hurled in the courtroom infuriated the judge.

In case of presence of a prepositional phrase, 'that' can refer to either the nearest noun or to the whole phrase and depends on the context. For e.g. -

1) One of the many aspects of the ocean environment that has increasingly become a matter of concern is the rise in average surface water temperatures. - Here, that is modifying the whole phrase 'one of the many aspects'.

2) One of the many aspects of the ocean environment that has seen many symbiotic relationships develop over the years is the diversity and complexity of such relationships. - Here, that is modifying ocean environment.

niksworth

Is it correct to use 'has' - "after one of the many X that"

Shouldn't it read
One of the many aspects of the ocean environment that have increasingly....

gmatrant wrote:niksworth

Is it correct to use 'has' - "after one of the many X that"

Shouldn't it read
One of the many aspects of the ocean environment that have increasingly....

Spot on.
In 1. have is the right choice as it has to agree with 'many aspects'

In 2. has is right as it agrees with 'ocean environment'.

Thanks for spotting that error.