Question

A particular species of lizard can range in body color from dark brown to light brown. Body color influences how well an individual lizard can hide from predators. The more similar a lizard's body color is to the soil in its environment, the less likely it is to be seen by a predator The two graphs below represent two similarly-sized populations of lizards in similar environments that have medium-brown soil. Population 1 Population 2 Number of Individuals Number of individuals darker lighter darker lighter Body Color Body Color Suppose an environmental change that causes the soil color to become much different occurs in both environments. Which of the following is true? ​

Answer 1

A- Population 1 is more likely to adapt and survive than population 2 because there is more variation related to body color in population 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order for natural selection to occur, organisms within a population must have some genetic variation. That is, organisms within a population must have some traits that are different from one another. The more genetic variation that exists in a population, the better able the population is to handle environmental changes because it is more likely that at least some individuals will survive and reproduce.

The graphs show that population 1 exhibits a greater degree of genetic variation than population 2 in terms of body color. This means that if the soil in the environments where these populations live changes, it is more likely that some of the individuals in population 1 will survive and reproduce due to having advantageous body color in the new environment. Therefore, population 1 is more likely to adapt and survive than population 2 because there is more variation related to body color in population 1.