Answer: it is likely that the newts in Oregon State Park became more poisonous due to a combination of adaptive traits and changes to their environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is not clear what specific event caused the newt population in Oregon State Park to become more poisonous. In order to understand the cause of this change, it would be necessary to have more information about the newts and their environment, including details about their biology, behavior, and the conditions they live in.
Adaptive traits are characteristics that help an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. If the newts in Oregon State Park developed a higher degree of poison as an adaptive trait, it could be because this trait helped them survive or reproduce more successfully. For example, if the newts were being preyed upon by a specific predator, becoming more poisonous might help them defend themselves and avoid being eaten. Alternatively, if the newts were competing with other species for resources, being more poisonous might give them an advantage in securing those resources.
Changes to the environment can also affect the traits of an organism. For example, if the newts' habitat underwent a change that made it more challenging for them to survive or reproduce, the newts might have evolved adaptive traits in response. For example, if the newts' food sources became scarce, they might have evolved a way to more efficiently extract nutrients from the food they could find.
Overall, it is likely that the newts in Oregon State Park became more poisonous due to a combination of adaptive traits and changes to their environment. These factors could have interacted in complex ways to influence the newts' likelihood of survival and reproduction, ultimately leading to the observed change in their population.