Question

a group of finches lived on an island where food sources were mostly small, soft seeds. most finches had small beaks. over time, a drought occurred, and small seeds became scarce. the only available food was large, hard seeds. some finches were born with larger, stronger beaks. as the drought continued, more finches in the population had large beaks. later, when the drought ended, and small seeds became abundant again, more finches in the population had small beaks. why did the beak sizes of finches change over time? the drought caused all finches to develop large beaks at the same time. finches changed their beak size to match the type of food available. large - beaked finches survived and reproduced more during the drought. small - beaked finches migrated to different islands to find more food.

Explanation:

During the drought, large - beaked finches had an advantage as they could eat the available large, hard seeds. They were more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the large - beak trait. When the drought ended and small seeds became abundant again, small - beaked finches had the advantage and their numbers increased. This is an example of natural selection.

Answer:

C. Large - beaked finches survived and reproduced more during the drought.