Apply: adaptation and environmental change

Question

Problem
In a population of plants, individuals can have either red or blue flowers. Red flowers tend to be pollinated by hummingbirds. Blue flowers tend to be pollinated by bees.
A plant with red flowers.
A plant with red flowers.
a plant with red flowers
A plant with blue flowers.
A plant with blue flowers.
a plant with blue flowers
Over time, a virus causes the number of bees in the plants’ environment to go down, until there are almost no bees left.
How is the plant population likely to change as a result of the loss of bees?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A) Blue-flowered plants will become less common.
A
Blue-flowered plants will become less common.
(Choice B) Red-flowered plants will become less common.
B
Red-flowered plants will become less common.

Answer 1

(Choice B) Red-flowered plants will become less common.

Without bees to pollinate the blue flowers, the plants with blue flowers will have a harder time reproducing and spreading their genes. On the other hand, the red-flowered plants that are pollinated by hummingbirds will not be as affected and will continue to reproduce successfully. Over time, this imbalance will likely lead to a decrease in the number of blue-flowered plants and an increase in the number of red-flowered plants in the population.