Mosquitoes are carriers of several diseases that can infect humans. In the past, the insecticide DDT was heavily used to control mosquito populations in order to reduce instances of disease transmission. However, after some time, mosquito populations developed a resistance to DDT. Based on what you’ve learned about natural selection, in 3 as short as possible sentences, describe how mosquitoes may have come to develop this resistance
1 answer
Mosquitoes with a genetic trait that made them resistant to DDT were able to survive spraying, while non-resistant mosquitoes died. These resistant individuals then passed on their genes to their offspring, increasing the overall population of resistant mosquitoes. Over time, the majority of the mosquito population became DDT-resistant due to natural selection favoring those with the resistance trait.