Question

A population of rabbits moves to a dry desert environment. How could natural selection be a main contributing factor to speciation in this rabbit population?

A) Most of the rabbits die due to dehydration.

B) Some rabbits reproduce at a different rate.

C) The rabbits are able to interbreed with other species of hare living in the desert.

D) Some of the rabbits are better adapted to the drier environment.​

Answer 1

D) Some of the rabbits are better adapted to the drier environment.​

Step-by-step explanation:

Natural selection is when the environment favours certain traits in organisms. Organisms that possess these traits are more likely to survive and pass on the traits to their offspring, leading to evolution.

Speciation is when populations become different enough (for example due to natural selection acting on variation in the population) that new species form.

If some rabbits posses traits that make them better adapted to the drier environment, then these rabbits are more likely to survive and pass on these traits to their babies. Eventually, this can cause speciation, as the rabbits that live in the desert are subject to different selective pressures (drier environment)