Anti-evolutionary thinkers sometimes argue that natural selection could not produce a complex structure like the vertebrate eye. They claim that all of the parts of the eye must have arisen at once, asking why natural selection would favor the development of part of an eye that is not yet capable of forming a focused image. Which of the statements about the molluscan eye rejects the claim of anti-evolutionary thinkers?
A) The anti-evolution argument has a great deal of merit. Only full-blown image-forming eyes are present in modern organisms, including in molluscs.
B) There are many intermediate stages of eye complexity, such as those in molluscs, that fulfill different adaptive functions.
C) The vertebrate eye is the ancestral form, and other types of organism, such as molluscs, have degenerate eyes that have lost most of their original structure and function.
D) The vertebrate eye works in a way that is completely different from the eyes found in molluscs and other invertebrates.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The statement that there are many intermediate stages of eye complexity, such as those in mollusks, that fulfill different adaptive functions rejects the claim of anti-evolutionary thinkers that complex structures like the vertebrate eye could not have evolved through natural selection. Mollusks have simple eyes that can detect light and shadow, but cannot form complex images. These simple eyes are still adaptive and provide an advantage to the organism, making it more likely for them to survive and reproduce, which supports the process of natural selection. Therefore, the existence of intermediate stages of eye complexity in organisms like mollusks provides evidence for the gradual evolution of complex structures through natural selection.

Anti-Evolutionary Thinkers Sometimes Argue That Natural Selection Could Not Produce