Male guppies that have colorful spots on them are chosen more often by female guppies for mating. Males can have from one to six spots. The more spots they have the more females are attracted to them. However, bright spots also make the males more
vulnerable to predators. In a pond with predators, male guppies have an average of 3.2 spots. Predict what would happen to the average spot number on the males over the generations if you removed all predators from the pond. Using natural selection, explain your answer.
What will be an ideal response?
The average number of spots would increase over the generations. Without predators, there is no selection against having many spots. Natural selection will favor males with more spots because females will mate with males with the most spots, and that trait will be passed on to the next generation.
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What does the graph in the figure above tell you about the definition of a keystone species?
A) A keystone species has little interaction with other species in an environment. B) Removing a keystone species from the community drastically reduces diversity. C) Adding a keystone species to the community will make it more diverse. D) Removing a keystone species from the community will eventually allow for the invasion of a new species.
A molecule of RNA has 99 phosphodiester bonds connecting ________ ribonucleotides.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
In Glacier Bay, one of the first species to colonize a newly exposed area of glacial till is fireweed. You would predict that fireweed is a(n) _____-selected species
A. r B. K
Slime molds move about in a way similar to
a. water molds. b. fungi. c. amoebas. d. dinoflagellates. e. ciliates.