Question

During his travels to the Galápagos Islands, Darwin observed that finches on different islands had varying beak shapes suited to the available food sources. This observation helped him develop his theory of natural selection.

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies one of the basic principles of natural selection?
Lions do not have to compete with other animals for food and water.
Finches belong to the same species, which means they have no variation.
Sea turtles only lay five eggs at a time, and all five will survive to adulthood.
Cacti that have deeper roots can store more water, which gives them a survival advantage.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The scenario that best exemplifies one of the basic principles of natural selection is:

**Cacti that have deeper roots can store more water, which gives them a survival advantage.**

This scenario illustrates the concept of adaptation, where certain traits (in this case, deeper roots) provide an advantage in survival and reproduction in a specific environment, leading to the idea that these traits may become more common in the population over time through the process of natural selection.