A population of stick insects living in a woodland contains both green and brown individuals. When a prolonged drought causes the forest floor and foliage to turn mostly brown, the brown insects become better camouflaged against predators than the green insects. Over several generations, the percentage of brown insects in the population increases significantly. Which of the following best explains why this change occurred?
- AIndividual green insects intentionally changed their skin pigment during their lifetime to match the dry foliage.
- Brown insects were more likely to survive predation and reproduce, passing the brown coloration trait to their offspring.Cevap
- CThe allele for brown coloration is dominant, so it automatically increases in frequency regardless of environmental survival.
- DIndividual insects recognized the predator danger and modified their DNA before laying eggs.
Cevap
Brown insects had higher survival and reproductive success due to effective camouflage, passing their favorable inherited traits to subsequent generations.
Natural selection operates because individuals with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those inherited traits to the next generation. Because brown insects were better camouflaged during the drought, they had higher survival rates, increasing the proportion of brown individuals over time.
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Anahtar Kavram
Natural selection acts on preexisting genetic variation in a population, leading to adaptation over generations rather than individual modification during a lifetime.
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