What relationships exist among reasoning, evidence, and explanation?

Reasoning is used to connect the evidence and the explanation.If members of a population have a variety of traits, it is************

more likely that some of the members will have traits that let them survive and reproduce.***********

Living things with traits that are a good fit to their environment

are more likely to survive and reproduce.*************

Consider the following scenario:

A scientist is analyzing one bird population. There is a large amount of variation in size in the population. There are also predators that eat these birds. After collecting evidence on three types of birds (small, medium, and large), the scientist discovers that the large birds are less likely to be killed. The only major genetic difference is the size of the birds. The colors and behaviors of the large birds are the same as those of the small and medium birds.

Using reasoning skills, identify the most credible explanation for what is contributing to this higher rate of survival.

The large birds may be the hardest for predators to attack.**********