Question
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico gets its name from the extremely white sand that covers much of the ground.
Image courtesy of the National Park Service
The eastern fence lizard is found throughout the southern United States in a variety of shades of brown and grey. How would living in White Sands National Monument for a few generations change a population of eastern fence lizards?
A.
The entire population would be able to run faster.
B.
The average color of the population would not change.
C.
The entire population would become white.
D.
The average color of the population would become paler.
Image courtesy of the National Park Service
The eastern fence lizard is found throughout the southern United States in a variety of shades of brown and grey. How would living in White Sands National Monument for a few generations change a population of eastern fence lizards?
A.
The entire population would be able to run faster.
B.
The average color of the population would not change.
C.
The entire population would become white.
D.
The average color of the population would become paler.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is **D. The average color of the population would become paler.**
Over generations, if eastern fence lizards live in an environment like White Sands National Monument where the substrate is primarily white, lizards that are paler in color would have a survival advantage due to better camouflage against predators. As a result, natural selection would favor these lighter-colored lizards, leading to an increase in the frequency of paler coloration in the population over time.
Over generations, if eastern fence lizards live in an environment like White Sands National Monument where the substrate is primarily white, lizards that are paler in color would have a survival advantage due to better camouflage against predators. As a result, natural selection would favor these lighter-colored lizards, leading to an increase in the frequency of paler coloration in the population over time.