A small number of birds arrive on an island from a neighboring larger island. This small population begins to adapt to the new food plants available on the island as selection favors those birds with larger beaks. About twice a year, one or two more birds from the neighboring island arrive. These new arrivals ________.
A) speed up the process of speciation
B) tend to promote adaptation to the new food plants
C) tend to retard adaptation to the new food plants
D) represent a colonizing event

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The new arrivals introduce genetic variation that is more suited to the conditions of the original larger island, not the new one. This influx of genes can dilute the adaptations that the small, isolated population is developing for the new environment, potentially slowing the adaptation process.

A Small Number of Birds Arrive on an Island from a Neighboring