Consider the following scenario:
You are a scientist observing rodents on the Galapagos Islands. You notice that the introduction of new bird of prey has limited the number of rodents.
What term best describes the factor that is limiting the number of rodents the environment can support?
(1 point)
Responses
variation
variation
selective pressure
selective pressure
fitness
fitness
food supply
Selective Pressure
Natural Selection
Changes in the environment can act only on existing variations in a population.
Becomes more common in the population.
selective pressure
Consider the following scenario:
In an aquatic bird population, some birds have long legs. Other birds have short legs. The food supply is minimal. The birds with long legs are able to wade farther into the water where they can find fish. Over time, the birds with long legs become more common.
What scientific term best describes this scenario?
(1 point)
Responses
fitness
fitness
selective pressures
selective pressures
mutation
mutation
natural selection
natural selection
It seems like these are separate terms/statements and not a coherent sentence or question. Can you please provide more context or structure to your prompt?
natural selection
What relationship exists between changes in the environment and variations?(1 point)
Responses
Changes in the environment can act only on existing variations in a population.
Changes in the environment can act only on existing variations in a population.
Changes in the environment cannot change which traits are advantageous.
Changes in the environment cannot change which traits are advantageous.
Changes in the environment cannot influence the fitness of an organism.
Changes in the environment cannot influence the fitness of an organism.
Changes in the environment can only cause new variations to appear.
Changes in the environment can act only on existing variations in a population.
Over time, the variation that gives an advantage(1 point)
Responses
can limit the number of selective pressures.
can limit the number of selective pressures.
becomes less common in the population.
becomes less common in the population.
becomes more common in the population.
becomes more common in the population.
can limit the number of individual organisms.
becomes more common in the population.
In this scenario, the term that best describes the factor limiting the number of rodents the environment can support is "selective pressure."
To understand why "selective pressure" is the correct answer, it's important to explain the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is the process by which certain traits or characteristics become more or less common in a population over time. This process occurs in response to environmental factors that put pressure on individuals with certain traits to survive and reproduce.
In this case, the introduction of a new bird of prey is the environmental factor that creates a selective pressure on rodents. This bird of prey likely preys on rodents, which means that the rodents are more likely to be hunted and killed. As a result, the population of rodents decreases because those individuals that are unable to evade the bird of prey are selected against - they are less likely to survive and reproduce. Thus, the selective pressure of the bird of prey limits the number of rodents the environment can support.
While the other options ("variation," "fitness," and "food supply") play important roles in evolutionary processes and population dynamics, they do not specifically capture the concept of an external factor causing a decrease in population through selective pressure.