Q: John is a biologist. Last summer, he was studying the evolution of two different salamander species, species A and species B. Species A salamander was Gold-striped salamander while species B salamander was fire salamander. He found it interesting that they took different approaches to adapt to different habitats. Which species would do worse in mountain brooks, species A or species B? Hint: Consider the antlers of the Irish elk, (often supposed to be far too large; in deer antler size has an allometric relationship to body size). Obviously, antlers serve positively for defence against predators, and to score victories in the annual rut. But they are costly in terms of resource. Their size during the last glacial period presumably depended on the relative gain and loss of reproductive capacity in the population of elks during that time. As another example, camouflage to avoid detection is destroyed when vivid coloration is displayed at mating time. Here the risk to life is counterbalanced by the necessity for reproduction.Stream-dwelling salamanders, such as Caucasian salamander or Gold-striped salamander have very slender, long bodies, perfectly adapted to life at the banks of fast small rivers and mountain brooks. Elongated body protects their larvae from being washed out by current. However, elongated body increases risk of desiccation and decreases dispersal ability of the salamanders; it also negatively affects their fecundity. As a result, fire salamander, less perfectly adapted to the mountain brook habitats, is in general more successful, have a higher fecundity and broader geographic range.
A: species B

Q: Two bird islands in the Atlantic Ocean had very different climate changes during the last 5 years. Bone island experienced drought, while Finch island experienced flooding. Which island didn't display clear evidence of natural selection? Hint: A period of very low rainfall occurred while the Grants were on the islands. The drought resulted in fewer seeds for the finches to eat. Birds with smaller beaks could eat only the smaller seeds. Birds with bigger beaks were better off. They could eat seeds of all sizes. Therefore, there was more food available to them. Many of the small-beaked birds died in the drought. More of the big-beaked birds survived and reproduced. Within just a couple of years, the average beak size in the finches increased. This was clearly evolution by natural selection.
A: Finch

Q: Italy had two distinct regions. Northern region where the animals are exposed to a lot of abiotic stress, and the southern region, where the animals experience almost no abiotic stress. Which region had fewer species go extinct? Hint: Biodiversity is determined by many things, and one of them is abiotic stress. If an environment is highly stressful, biodiversity tends to be low. If abiotic stress does not have a strong presence in an area, the biodiversity will be much higher.This idea leads into the understanding of how abiotic stress and endangered species are related. It has been observed through a variety of environments that as the level of abiotic stress increases, the number of species decreases. This means that species are more likely to become population threatened, endangered, and even extinct, when and where abiotic stress is especially harsh.
A: southern

Q: Pat has 2 acres of land next to Tim's property. Tim's land is of similar size. The clay soil on Tim's property is very alkaline, so he had to amend it with aluminum salts to make it more acidic in order to grow crops. The soil on Pat's parcel has a good structure and high infiltration capacity. Pat gets twice as much food of his land every year. Which farmer will get more crops this year? Hint: Alkali, or Alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (> 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate, which causes the soil to swell[1] and difficult to clarify/settle. They derive their name from the alkali metal group of elements, to which sodium belongs, and which can induce basicity. Sometimes these soils are also referred to as alkaline sodic soils. Alkaline soils are basic, but not all basic soils are alkaline.
A:
Pat