Patterns of Natural Selection

Spotted brown-and-white butterflies blend into lichen-covered tree bark, making it difficult for predators to see them, while solid brown and solid white butterflies are easier to see and get eaten. What type of selection is this?

• directional

• stabilizing

• disruptive

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

Panthers with teeth that are too short have difficulty capturing prey, while panthers with teeth that are too long have difficulty chewing their food. What type of selection is this?

• disruptive

• stabilizing

• directional

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

In a lake in South Africa, guppies are eaten by the pike fish, and the larger the guppy, the more difficulty it has escaping its pike fish predator. What type of selection is this?

• stabilizing

• directional

• disruptive

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

Larger squirrels can carry larger acorns to their burrows, and they out-compete smaller squirrels when acorns are limited. This is an example of:

• Distorted

• Stabilizing

• Disruptive

• Directional

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

The rocks at the bottom of a stream are either black or white. The snails that live on these rocks range in color from white, to gray, to black. The fish in the stream love to munch on these snails. The fish cannot spot the black and white snails, but can easily spot the gray snails. This is an example of:

• Distorted

• Stabilizing

• Disruptive

• Directional

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

Human babies usually do not survive of they are born under 4 pounds because their organs are too small to work properly; they cannot be born if they are too big because the mother would not be able to give birth without dying. This is an example of:

• Stabilizing

• Distorted

• Directional

• Disruptive