Over Evolutionary Time, Many Cave-Dwelling Organisms Have Lost Their Eyes

question 52

Multiple Choice

Over evolutionary 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, only for innovations.
• B) Natural selection accounts for these losses by the principle of use and disuse.
• C) Under particular circumstances that persisted for long periods, each of these structures presented greater costs than benefits.
• D) The ancestors of these organisms experienced harmful mutations that forced them to find new habitats that these species had not previously used.

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Definitions:

Development

The process of growth or progression through a series of progressive changes, typically from a simpler to a more complex or better state.

Mesosystem

The interlocking settings that influence the child, such as the interaction of the school and the larger community when children are taken on field trips.

Bronfenbrenner

Refers to Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory which describes the nested environmental contexts in which a person develops.

Individualized Education Plan

A tailored educational plan developed for students with disabilities, specifying personalized goals and the support needed to achieve them.