A student was studying the effect that pollutants from abandoned coal mines have

Question

A student was studying the effect that pollutants from abandoned coal mines have on the survivorship of nearby plant populations. One of the study sites included a population of daisies living in extremely basic (high pH) soils located downhill from an abandoned coal mine. During an unusually heavy rainfall event, the daisy population was for the first time exposed to highly acidic (low pH) water spiked with pollutants draining from the mine. About half of the daisy seedlings survived exposure to the acidic water. The student concluded that after being exposed to the acidic water, each surviving seedling generated a new metabolic pathway that processed acidic water. When the student argued this logic to Dr. Lockwood, stating that evolution by natural selection led to the daisies

Explanation / Answer

C. Selection acts on individuals, but changes characteristics of populations (not individuals).

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