Question

Copper in soil is usually toxic to plants, but some plants that grow near copper mines evolve copper tolerance. When copper-tolerant plants are grown in copper-free soil, they are outcompeted by the non-tolerant genotype. Which of the following principles does this scenario exemplify?

a.
The evolution of tolerance to copper resulted in a dependence on copper

b.
Evolution always maximizes the improvement or progress of a species

c.
Evolutionary changes can be advantageous under some environmental conditions but disadvantageous under others

d.
Resistant phenotypes always out-compete non-resistant phenotypes

Answer 1

C. Evolutionary changes can be advantageous under some environmental conditions but disadvantageous under others

Step-by-step explanation:

Evolution means to change something to survive, but that is under specific context. If we change the context, maybe that evolution is not advantegerous on the new scenario or context.

In this case, the plant evolve to survive copper in soli. If the soil has no more copper, that evolution is no longer needed.