In Florida, soapberry bugs have historically fed upon balloon vine fruits, which produce large fruits. Soapberry bugs that feed on these fruits have relatively long mouthparts. After the goldenrain tree was introduced as an ornamental plant in Florida, some populations of soapberry bugs became specialists and ate only goldenrain tree fruits, which produce small fruits. These specialized soapberry bug populations, on average, have shorter mouthparts than the populations that feed on balloon vine fruits. If a population of soapberry bugs from a balloon vine were experimentally moved to a goldenrain tree, what would you expect to happen over time? In your answer, include definitions of natural selection and evolution in your own words.

Question

Biology

Tristen

10 December, 18:49

In Florida, soapberry bugs have historically fed upon balloon vine fruits, which produce large fruits. Soapberry bugs that feed on these fruits have relatively long mouthparts. After the goldenrain tree was introduced as an ornamental plant in Florida, some populations of soapberry bugs became specialists and ate only goldenrain tree fruits, which produce small fruits. These specialized soapberry bug populations, on average, have shorter mouthparts than the populations that feed on balloon vine fruits. If a population of soapberry bugs from a balloon vine were experimentally moved to a goldenrain tree, what would you expect to happen over time? In your answer, include definitions of natural selection and evolution in your own words.

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Answers (1)

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Trevon Bautista · Answer 1

It is expected that the introduced population decreases because they have a minor adaptive response to survive in this new environment in comparison to its competence (i. e., specialized populations of soapberry bugs).

Explanation:

Natural selection is represented by the evolutionary processes that will select for survival to those individuals with higher adaptive fitness, which in this case is represented by the ability to obtain resources (food). In concequence, and according to the evolution theory, these introduced individuals will have less chances to reproduce in order to perpetuate their genes in the next generation.