Bell and collaborators painstakingly documented a population of fossil stickleba

Question

Bell and collaborators painstakingly documented a population of fossil sticklebacks from an ancient freshwater lake over a 20,000-year period. The prevalence of sticklebacks with full and reduced pelvises changed over time. Which is true? In this population, having pelvic spines seemed to provide a selective advantage to stickleback fish. The population of fish with pelvic spines that arrived in the lake at time B evolved a reduced pelvis over time (beginning at time C). By the end of the studied period (time D) there was an approximately equal number of sticklebacks with and without spines. Initially (time A), fish with full pelvises dominated the lake population. The evolution of pelvic reduction seen in the fossil record is different from the phenomenon occurring in the lakes in Alaska today.

Explanation / Answer

Answer: (b)

The population of fish with pelvic spines that arrived in the lake at time B evolved a reduced pelvis over time (beginning at time C)

Reduction of pelvic spines have been seen to be be advantageous where grasping predators poses threat.

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