Coevolution can be seen between some plants and animals, like the yucca plant and the yucca moth. The flowers are shaped specifically so that only the tiny moth can pollinate them. If the yucca moth goes extinct due to climate change or other human- generated factors, what would be the likely outcome for the yucca plant?

Question

Humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant.
Humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant.

The yucca plant would also go extinct.
The yucca plant would also go extinct.

A new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of the yucca moth.
A new animal would evolve or adapt to take over the job of the yucca moth.

The yucca plant would evolve a new way to be pollinated.

Answer 1

If the yucca moth goes extinct, the most likely outcome for the yucca plant is that humans would have to engineer a way to pollinate the plant. This is because the yucca and the moth have a specialized mutualistic relationship where the moth is the primary pollinator of the yucca plant. Without the yucca moth, the plant would not have its natural means of reproduction.

While it is possible that some other pollinator could adapt to take over the role of the yucca moth or that the plant might evolve a new method of pollination over a long time, such processes typically require a longer timeframe and are not guaranteed. The immediate threat posed by the extinction of the pollinator most likely points to human intervention being necessary to preserve the yucca plant.