Question

Charles Darwin studied finches on the Galapagos Islands. While the finches on all the islands came from the same ancestors, the distance between the islands was too great to allow finches from different islands to interbreed. Over time, the size of the finches on the different islands remained the same, but the shape and size of their beaks changed, as shown here. This adaptation helped the finches find food on their particular island. The change in the size and shape of the finches’ beaks was MOST LIKELY caused by
Responses
A geographic isolationgeographic isolation
B a change in climate.a change in climate.
C endangerment of the species.endangerment of the species.
D a decrease in the mutation rate.

Answer 1

A

Geographic isolation prevented interbreeding between island populations, so natural selection acted independently on each group. Different food sources on each island favored different beak shapes, producing the observed adaptations.