Question

Which example of artificial selection is caused indirectly by human activity?

A.choosing sheep that enable offspring to give a large amount of wool
B.
mating goats that produce more milk
C.
selective mating among ducks to produce larger eggs
D.
increased number of small crabs because fishing nets catch mostly large crabs

Answer 1

Answer;

D.) increased number of small crabs because fishing nets catch mostly large crabs

Explanation;

-Artificial selection is a form of selection in which humans actively choose which traits should be passed onto offspring. Humans have used selective breeding long before Darwin's Postulates and the discovery of genetics.

-Farmers chose cattle with beneficial traits such as larger size or producing more milk, and made them breed; and although they may have known nothing about genes, they knew that the beneficial traits could be heritable. The farmers selected for certain traits in their cattle and probably noticed that the offspring were becoming more and more productive with each generation.

Answer 2

The artificial selection is a procedure of selectively breeding certain species of plants and animals in order to develop certain desirable traits. Artificial selection helps the humans to get the plants or livestock that are the most useful for them. Among the given options, the choosing of the sheep giving the most wool, mating of the goats producing more milk, and mating of the ducks to produce large eggs are all examples of the deliberate artificial selection.

But the using of the fishing nets that are catching only the large crabs is an example of indirect artificial selection as it leads to the increased population of small crabs.

Hence, the correct answer is 'option d'.