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Can anyone give me an example of how the environment influenced the body plans of organisms?

2007-03-18 09:34:34 · 5 answers · asked by shannon11317 1 in Science & Mathematics Biology

5 answers

organisms change to fit their environment
like finches on the galapogas changing their beek size

2007-03-18 09:38:15 · answer #1 · answered by wesnaw1 5 · 1 0

Wesnaw1's answer is not entirely accurate. The bodies themselves do not actually change. Instead, what happens is that some finches are born with long beaks, and some with short ones. Those with long beaks tend to survive better in a particular type of environment, and that genetic trait spreads through the population.

So the environment simply selects among the population of individuals better fit or adapted for that environment. Environmental factors include not only climate, but competition for resources among other species and even other members of the same species.

2007-03-18 16:42:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

You can pretty much make an argument for any body part (human or otherwise) you can think of. The theory of evolution dictates that those most suited to the environment survive better and therefore reproduce mor successfully. The first example that comes to my mind if the long neck of the giraffe. If the giraffe evolved in an environment with short trees, it wouldn't have the neck...

Note: not to be confused with Lamarckian evolution which is a disproven theory...

2007-03-18 16:41:22 · answer #3 · answered by S1LK 3 · 0 0

Some finches in the Galapagos Islands were once related by being on the same island together. As the islands separated from each other through plate tectonics, some of the finches of the same species were isolated on separate islands. Over time, the birds that were isolated, were selected for better feeding opportunities by having beaks that were more able to dig deeper into the local flowering plants to remove nectar and seeds. Today, the birds beak shapes are indicative of the types of flowers they feed on.

2007-03-18 16:41:54 · answer #4 · answered by Gary D 7 · 0 0

A root in a crack of a rock.
A bacteria cell outermembrane, in pH of 8.

2007-03-18 16:39:27 · answer #5 · answered by Wonka 5 · 0 0

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