Question
Mosquitoes can carry and transmit many diseases to humans. The insecticide DDT was heavily used to reduce mosquito populations. However, mosquito populations developed a resistance to DDT. This made DDT less effective.
In 3–5 sentences, describe how mosquitoes may have develop this resistance to DDT. Make sure to define natural selection in your answer and how it relates to this situation.
In 3–5 sentences, describe how mosquitoes may have develop this resistance to DDT. Make sure to define natural selection in your answer and how it relates to this situation.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Mosquitoes may have developed resistance to DDT through the process of natural selection, which is the mechanism wherein individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. In a population where DDT is used, some mosquitoes might carry genetic mutations that provide resistance to the insecticide. When DDT is applied, susceptible mosquitoes are killed, while those with resistance survive and reproduce, passing on their resistant traits to the next generation. Over time, this leads to a higher proportion of resistant mosquitoes in the population, diminishing the effectiveness of DDT as a pest control method.