A few years ago the population of male blue moon butterflies on the island of Samoa declined. One hypothesis for the decline of the male butterflies is that a parasite infected the cells of female butterflies. The parasite was passed to offspring through the females’ eggs and killed the male butterfly embryos. At one point during the decline, nearly all the butterflies in the population were females, but after five years the number of males in the population increased significantly. Which explanation most likely accounts for the increase in the number of male butterflies in the five years after the initial parasite problem?

Lake Victoria in East Africa is home to many species of fish called cichlids. In 1954 the predatory Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria. The Nile perch became the dominant fish species in the lake by the mid-1980s. The number of cichlid species in the lake decreased as the Nile perch population increased. The perch preyed heavily on cichlid species that fed on algae and debris on the bottom of the lake. Algae in the lake increased, and oxygen levels decreased. The surface area of the gills of some cichlid species has increased in just over 20 years. Which statement explains the increase in gill surface area seen in some of Lake Victoria’s cichlids?

When Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos Islands in the 1800s, he observed many types of organisms that were similar but lived on different islands. The four species of mockingbirds found on the Galápagos Islands are shown below. Each species lives on a different island. These species are very similar, but the Hood mockingbird has a longer beak than the other three species. Which of the following best explains this difference?