Question

A population of green iguanas lived on a tropical island. Originally, most of the iguanas had feet without webbing between their toes and a long round tail. A few iguanas had webbed feet and a short, flat tail. As the years passed, the island became smaller and smaller because of flooding. Even the land areas were dotted with ponds and pools. The iguanas had a hard time finding the food they normally ate. To survive, the iguanas had to swim from island to island to find food. How would you expect the iguanas to look many years after the island flooded and food became harder to find?

Answer 1

Answer: B) There would be more iguanas with webbed feet and flat tails.

Explanation:There would be more iguanas with webbed feet and flat tails. Because iguanas now had to swim to find food, the iguanas that had webbed feet and short, flat tails were able to survive and reproduce. Over time, more and more iguanas had webbed feet and flat tails.

Answer 2

Originally most of the iguanas had non webbed feet and round tails. Webbed feet and flat tail helped in swimming which was not required since the iguanas had plenty of food. As the island got flooded the iguanas were forced to swim in search of food. So webbed feet and flat tail became beneficial traits. Over the generations, the few mutants having these traits multiplied and increased in number. Their survival rate was better than the non webbed, round tail iguanas since they could find food easily. They were naturally selected. Hence over the years it is expected that more iguanas would have webbed feet and flat tail in the population.