Over long periods of time, many cave-dwelling organisms have lost their eyes. Tapeworms have lost their digestive systems. Whales have lost their hind limbs. How can natural selection account for these losses?
A) Natural selection cannot account for losses, but can only account for new structures and functions.
B) Natural selection accounts for these losses by the principle of use and disuse.
C) Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, natural selection reduced each of these structures because they presented greater costs than benefits.
D) The ancestors of these organisms experienced harmful mutations that forced them to lose these structures.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Natural selection can lead to the reduction or loss of structures that are costly to maintain and not beneficial for survival in certain environments, thus explaining the loss of eyes, digestive systems, and hind limbs in the given examples.

Over Long Periods of Time, Many Cave-Dwelling Organisms Have Lost