During a wetter El Nino year on Daphne Major, which finches did better?
AThe small-billed birds
BThe large-billed birds
CNeither group of birds
DOnly the oldest birds
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. The small-billed birds
1. Rainfall changed the mix of seeds on the island.
2. During a period in which rainfall was higher than normal, the large hard seeds that large-billed birds ate were reduced in number.
3. However, there was an abundance of the small soft seeds which the small-billed birds ate.
4. Therefore survival and reproduction were much better in the following years for the small-billed birds.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 18 'Evolution and the Origin of Species', sections 18.1-18.3_
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