[Campbell Biology P.527] Which statement accurately reflects one of the three key points abo... | Practice Question

Which statement accurately reflects one of the three key points about natural selection discussed in the text, using both S. aureus and soapberry bug examples?

  • A: Natural selection is a creative mechanism that produces new traits in a population.
  • B: Evolution by natural selection always occurs slowly, over thousands of years.
  • C: Natural selection favors characteristics that provide an advantage in the current, local environment, even if they might be harmful elsewhere.
  • D: Antibiotics create new resistant pathogens by modifying bacterial genes.

Explanation

The third key point about natural selection is that 'natural selection depends on time and place. It favors those characteristics in a genetically variable population that provide an advantage in the current, local environment. What is beneficial in one situation may be useless or even harmful in another.' This is exemplified by the soapberry bug beak lengths.