In many regions of the world, there are closely related species of plants that are each pollinated by a single species of closely related insect species. Imagine that the flowers of each plant differ in the length of their corollas (a portion at the base of the flower that holds nectar, a reward for the pollinator), and that the insects differ in the length of their mouthparts that reach the nectar. Which of the following would you expect for the phylogenies of the flowers and their pollinators?
A)The phylogenies would be random with respect to each other because we do not know if both groups speciated allopatrically or sympatrically.
B)The phylogenies should have similar patterns, because the flowers and insects likely coevolved.
C)The phylogenies should have similar patterns, but the insects probably evolved later so this is not an example of coevolution.
D)The phylogenies should have similar patterns because the flowers and the insects are reproductively isolated from one another.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The close relationship between the plants and their pollinators suggests coevolution, where the length of the corolla and the mouthparts evolved in response to each other. This would result in similar patterns of phylogenies for both groups.

In Many Regions of the World, There Are Closely Related