Beaks of Finches and Natural Selection

According to the theory of natural selection, why are some individuals more likely than others to survive and reproduce? 

• Some individuals pass on to their offspring new characteristics they have acquired during their lifetimes. 
• Some individuals are better adapted to exist in their environment than others are. 
• Some individuals do not pass on to their offspring new characteristics they have acquired during their lifetimes. 
• Some individuals tend to produce fewer offspring than others in the same environment. 

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the diagram below that shows variations in the beaks of finches in the Galapagos Islands and on your knowledge of biology. 
The diversity of species seen on the Galapagos Islands is mostly due to 

• gene manipulation by scientists 
• gene changes resulting from mitotic cell division 
• natural selection 
• selective breeding 

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the information below and on your knowledge of biology. The diagram below represents the relationship between beak structure and food in several species of finches in the Galapagos Islands. 
Which factor most directly influenced the evolution of the diverse types of beaks of these finches? 

• predation by humans 
• available food sources 
• oceanic storms 
• lack of available niches 

Base your answer to the following question on the finch diversity diagram below and on your knowledge of biology.  Warbler finches are classified as 

• producers 
• herbivores 
• carnivores 
• decomposers 

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the diagram below and on your knowledge of biology.
Which two finches would compete the least for food? 

• small ground finch and large ground finch 
• large ground finch and sharp-billed ground finch 
• small tree finch and medium ground finch 
• vegetarian finch and small ground finch 

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the diagram below and your knowledge of biology.  Which species of finch has an edge-crushing bill that can also probe into plants for food? 

• cactus finch 
• sharp-billed ground finch 
• warbler finch 
• large ground finch 

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) 8. on the diagram below and on your knowledge of
biology.
Several of the Galapagos Islands are inhabited by grasshoppers, beetles, flies, bees, and butterflies. Finches that feed on these consumers would have beaks adapted for 

• probing, only 
• probing or grasping 
• crushing or probing 
• parrotlike feeding or grasping 

Finches on the Galapagos Islands are thought to have originated from South America and to have evolved into new species over the last 10,000 years. 
The success of the finches on the Galapagos was most likely due to the 

• large numbers of other birds competing for food 
• mutations occurring in every offspring 
• birds occupying the same island 
• birds adapting to different niches 

Studies of the finches of the Galapagos Islands have shown that 

• DNA will change to produce structures needed by birds to survive intense competition 
• a bird’s beak changes annually in response to the type of food that is most abundant each year 
• natural selection occurs when there are scarce resources and intense competition 
• the beak of a finch will change if the environment of the bird remains stable 

The different tools used during the beaks of finches lab represented 

• feeding adaptations in finches 
• nest construction adaptations 
• variations in seed size 
• variations in ecosystems