Which description is an example of character displacement?
A) Early in its growing season, scarlet gilia produces red flowers that attract hummingbirds; later in the season, it produces white flowers that attract hawk moths.
B) Large herbivores usually eat a wide variety of plants to minimize their exposure to the toxins of any one plant.
C) Finches in the Galápagos Islands are smaller on islands where bees are present, because bees compete with the finches for cactus nectar.
D) A species of butterfly eaten by bird predators evolves the color patterns of another butterfly species that is toxic to the predators.
E) Desert ants prevent honeypot ants from feeding, by dropping stones into the honeypot ants' nest openings.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Character displacement is a phenomenon in which two similar species that compete for the same resources evolve to have different traits that allow them to better exploit different resources. In this case, the Galápagos finches are an example of character displacement because they have evolved to be smaller on islands where bees are present, as the bees compete with the finches for cactus nectar. This allows the smaller finches to successfully exploit smaller flowers and niches that the larger finches cannot, thus reducing competition between the two species.

Which Description Is an Example of Character Displacement