You are interested in understanding whether evolution by natural selection occurs for body length in a population of copperhead snakes in the Clemson Forest. You record the number of offspring produced by 100 copperhead mothers and measure the length of each mother which varies substantially.
You find that the largest 20 copperhead mothers had 3 more offspring on average than the smallest 20 copperhead mothers. You record the length of all offspring in the next generation and find that the average population snake length increased by 10 centimeters compared to the previous generation!
Think about the 4 postulates of Natural Selection. Based on your results, which of the following conclusions do you draw?
HINT: Don't assume any information that is not given in the question. For each postulate, ask yourself if there is sufficient information provided to make a conclusion!
Natural selection has occurred but evolution has not
Evolution has occurred but not necessarily by natural selection
Neither natural selection nor evolution have occurred
Evolution by natural selection has occurred
You are interested in understanding whether evolution by natural selection occurs for body length in a population of copperhead snakes in the Clemson Forest.You record the number of offspring produced by 100 copperhead mothers and measure the length of each mother which varies substantially You find that the largest 20 copperhead mothers had 3 more offspring on average than the smallest 20 copperhead mothers. You record the length of all offspring in the next generation and find that the average population snake length increased by 10 centimeters compared to the previous generation! Think about the 4 postulates of Natural Selection. Based on your results,which of the following conclusions do you draw? * HINT: Don't assume any information that is not given in the question. For each postulate, ask yourself if there is sufficient information provided to make a conclusion!
O Natural selection has occurred but evolution has not
O Evolution has occurred but not necessarily by natural selection
O Neither natural selection nor evolution have occurred
O Evolution by natural selection has occurred