It is a mistake to think, as ecologists once did, that natural selection will eventually result in organisms that will be perfectly adapted to their environments. After all, perfect adaptation of an individual to its environment is impossible, for an individual’s environment can vary tremendously; no single set of attributes could possibly prepare an organism to cope with all the conditions that it could face.
Question: Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the argument?
Options:
A. It is not possible for an individual to be perfectly adapted to its environment.
B. Natural selection will never result in individuals that will be perfectly adapted to their environments.
C. No single set of attributes could enable an individual organism to cope with all of the conditions that it might face.
D. Because an individual’s environment can vary tremendously, no individual can be perfectly adapted to its environment.
E. Ecologists once believed that natural selection would eventually result in individuals that will be perfectly adapted to their environments.
Answer: B