Question

Hawaiian honeycreepers, which are closely related to North American finches, have been devastated by the introduction of mosquitoes and now survive only at sufficiently high elevations which are devoid of mosquitoes. Given what you know about the potential problems with introduced species, why have mosquitoes been so detrimental to Hawaiian honeycreepers when birds all over the world have been exposed to mosquitoes with little or no negative consequences?

A. Hawaiian honeycreepers have only recently evolved (branched off) from the ancestral finch stock and therefore have not had time to evolve defenses against other organisms in their native habitats
B. Hawaiian honeycreepers are competing with mosquitoes for food, and the more aggressive mosquitoes are outcompeting the honeycreepers.
C. Mosquitoes are not native to Hawaii and hence Hawaiian honeycreepers have evolved no defenses against the diseases that mosquitoes transmit.
D. Mosquitoes are more abundant on Hawaii than anywhere else on earth due to the tropical trade-winds and moist conditions.

Answer 1

Option C. Mosquitoes are not native to Hawaii and hence Hawaiian honeycreepers have evolved no defenses against the diseases that mosquitoes transmit.

Step-by-step explanation:

Avaian malaria and its vector i.e mosquitoes neverexisted in Hawai Island until the 1800s. It is believed that during sea and ocean invasions, sailors have dumped mosquito larvae into the fresh water stream.

During the hot and humid summers on the island, the mosquito habitats increased due to which the Hawaiian honeycreepers got effected by Malaria.

Since this disease was not native to the island. The honey creepers have no defense mechanism against them .

Hence, option C is correct