Museum exhibits demonstrate how life and Earth have influenced each other throughout history. You'll analyze how biological processes have changed Earth's atmosphere and geology, and how geological events have driven evolutionary change and biodiversity patterns.
Question 4 (11.111111111 points)
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The museum's Cambrian Explosion exhibit shows rapid diversification of animal life about 540 million years ago, coinciding with changes in ocean chemistry and atmospheric composition. What does this timing suggest about environmental factors in evolution?
Question 4 options:
Environmental conditions only slow evolution down and never speed it up
Favorable environmental conditions can accelerate evolutionary diversification and complexity
Environmental factors never influence the rate or direction of evolutionary change
The Cambrian Explosion happened despite environmental barriers, not because of favorable conditions
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Favorable environmental conditions can accelerate evolutionary diversification and complexity.
Explanation: The coincidence of rising oxygen, changes in ocean chemistry (e.g., more dissolved ions for biomineralization), and nutrient availability with the Cambrian Explosion implies that environmental changes created new ecological opportunities (larger body sizes, hard parts, new niches, predator–prey interactions) that sped up diversification.
Explanation: The coincidence of rising oxygen, changes in ocean chemistry (e.g., more dissolved ions for biomineralization), and nutrient availability with the Cambrian Explosion implies that environmental changes created new ecological opportunities (larger body sizes, hard parts, new niches, predator–prey interactions) that sped up diversification.
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