Gray and red squirrels share the same habitat. Red squirrels usually eat hazelnuts. After a disease kills off hazelnut trees in their environment, they have to start eating acorns. Gray squirrels are well adapted to eating acorns. The number of red squirrels decreased over time because they were not well adapated to eating acorns. Gray squirrels gradually replaced the red squirrels because they are better adapted to the environment. This change in the populations is an example of(1 point)

Question

Gray and red squirrels share the same habitat. Red squirrels usually eat hazelnuts. After a disease kills off hazelnut trees in their environment, they have to start eating acorns. Gray squirrels are well adapted to eating acorns. The number of red squirrels decreased over time because they were not well adapated to eating acorns. Gray squirrels gradually replaced the red squirrels because they are better adapted to the environment. This change in the populations is an example of(1 point)
Responses

competitive exclusion.
competitive exclusion.

natural selection.
natural selection.

resource partitioning.
resource partitioning.

genetic drift.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

This change in the populations is an example of **natural selection**. The red squirrels were not well adapted to the new food source (acorns), which led to a decrease in their population, while gray squirrels, being better adapted, thrived and increased in number.