Asked by Vaggie

A species of bird has slight variations in its beak size and shape. Some individuals with bigger beaks are better at
cracking seeds. Some individuals with narrower beaks are better at hunting for bugs. An invasive species is
introduced that hunts all of the bug population, wiping out that food source for the birds, so all they are left with is
seeds.

In one to two sentences, explain how genetic variation from sexual reproduction can save this species from
extinction.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Sexual reproduction produces genetic variation in beak size and shape, so some offspring will inherit larger, stronger beaks better suited to cracking seeds. Natural selection then favors those individuals, increasing the frequency of alleles for big beaks over generations and allowing the population to adapt instead of going extinct.