What caused the shift in the hummingbird population?

Question:

A population of hummingbirds is composed of individuals with short or long beaks. A flowering trumpet vine is introduced, resulting in fewer short-beaked and more long-beaked hummingbirds. What condition most likely caused this shift?

Answer:

Hummingbirds that compete for nectar were more successful with long beaks.

Explanation:

Adaptation is a change that helps an organism to survive in its environment. These changes may occur in the genetic make-up, physiology, morphology, and behavior. In this case, the introduction of a flowering trumpet vine with deep, bell-shaped flowers resulted in a shift in the hummingbird population towards more long-beaked individuals.

The hummingbirds with short or long beaks compete for nectar inside flowers. With the introduction of the trumpet vine, which produces flowers with deep, bell-shaped structures, the hummingbirds with long beaks were more successful in reaching the nectar. This success in obtaining food led to these hummingbirds being able to produce more offspring compared to those with short beaks.

Over time, this preference for long-beaked hummingbirds in accessing nectar from the trumpet vine flowers would lead to a shift in the population towards more long-beaked individuals. This is an example of natural selection at work, where organisms with favorable traits have better chances of survival and reproduction, leading to changes in the population over generations.