Which of the following is an example of natural selection?
A) birds that evolve a new beak style in order to exploit a different food source
B) the extinction of the Mammoths due to hunting by a new predator
C) fossils of trilobites that have the same morphology but are separated by millions of years
D) the mass extinction of the dinosaurs due to a meteorite's impact 65 million years ago

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Birds evolving a new beak style in order to exploit a different food source is an example of natural selection. The birds with the advantageous traits (in this case, the new beak style) are better suited to survive and reproduce, passing on those beneficial traits to their offspring. Over time, this leads to the evolution of new species.

B, C, and D are not examples of natural selection:
B is an example of human-caused extinction rather than natural selection. 
C is simply evidence of the existence of a particular species in the past, and doesn't illustrate any specific mechanism of evolution. 
D is an example of a catastrophic event leading to extinction, rather than natural selection.

Which of the Following Is an Example of Natural Selection