Coevolution can be seen between some plants and animals, like the yucca plant and the yucca moth. The flowers are shaped specifically so that only the tiny moth can pollinate them.
If the yucca moth goes extinct due to climate change or other human-generated factors, what would be the likely outcome for the yucca plant?
(1 point)
Responses
The yucca plant would also go extinct.
The yucca plant would also go extinct.
A new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of the yucca moth.
A new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of the yucca moth.
Humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant.
Humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant.
The yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated.
The yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated.
Skip to navigation
The likely outcome for the yucca plant if the yucca moth goes extinct would be that the yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated.
one of the responses
One of the likely outcomes for the yucca plant if the yucca moth goes extinct would be that a new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of pollinating the plant.
The likely outcome for the yucca plant if the yucca moth goes extinct could be one of the following possibilities:
1. The yucca plant would also go extinct: If the yucca moth is the only pollinator for the plant and no alternative pollination methods exist, the plant may struggle to reproduce and eventually become extinct.
2. A new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of the yucca moth: In some cases, if a specific pollinator becomes extinct, another species may evolve or adapt to fill the ecological niche and continue the pollination process for the yucca plant.
3. Humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant: If the yucca plant is of economic or ecological importance, humans may intervene and develop artificial pollination methods to ensure its survival.
4. The yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated: In some cases, plants are flexible and can adapt to changes in their environment. If the yucca moth becomes extinct, the yucca plant may evolve alternative mechanisms of pollination, such as producing nectar to attract other pollinators or developing structures that facilitate wind pollination.
The likely outcome for the yucca plant if the yucca moth goes extinct would be that the yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated.
To understand why this is the likely outcome, we need to consider the concept of coevolution. Coevolution is the process in which two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution. In the case of the yucca plant and the yucca moth, they have a specialized mutualistic relationship where the moth relies on the plant for food and the plant relies on the moth for pollination.
In the absence of the yucca moth, the yucca plant would no longer receive the necessary pollination services and its reproductive success would decline. However, natural selection favors traits that increase an organism's chances of survival and reproduction. Therefore, over time, the yucca plant may evolve new traits that allow it to be pollinated by a different animal or even by wind or other abiotic factors.
This is not to say that the yucca plant would necessarily evolve a new mutualistic relationship with another species, as coevolution can take various forms. It could be that a different animal evolves to become the primary pollinator of the yucca plant, or the yucca plant may develop adaptations to self-pollinate or utilize other means of reproduction.
While humans could potentially intervene and engineer a way to pollinate the plant artificially, this would not be the natural outcome of coevolution. The natural course of coevolution would likely involve the yucca plant adapting to the changed circumstances by evolving a new way to be pollinated.