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Once complex adaptations evolved, such as bilateral symmetry in animals, they are never lost.

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CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER

Once complex adaptations evolved, such as bilateral symmetry in animals, they are never lost.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Consider the claim that once complex adaptations have evolved, such as bilateral symmetry in animals, they are never lost.
Option 1: True. This option asserts permanence of complex traits. In evolutionary biology, however, traits can be modified, reduced, or even lost if they no longer confer a selective advantage, so this statement oversimplifies reality.
Option 2: False. This choice aligns with the understanding that evolution can lead to loss or reduction of traits when environments or life histories change. For example, certain cave-dwelling or parasitic lineages may lose features like pigmentation, eyesight, or other complex characteristics if those traits no longer help survival or reproduction, illustrating that even fundamental body plans or complex adaptations can be diminished over time. The idea of an irreversible trajectory is not supported by evolutionary theory.
Option 1 further fails to account for the dynamic nature of selection and drift; lineages may diverge, revert, or simplify in response to ecological pressures, making the blanket statement that such adaptations are never lost inaccurate.
Option 2 correctly challenges the notion of permanence by highlighting mechanisms like relaxed selection, genetic drift, or developmental constraints that can lead to loss or simplification of traits under changing circumstances, thereby providing a more nuanced view of evolutionary potential.
Option 1's appeal to permanence is a common misconception, as it implies a one-way street for complex traits, which evolution does not guarantee; repeated examples across taxa show that traits can disappear or diminish when they are no longer advantageous.
Option 2 benefits from acknowledging that evolution is contingent and context-dependent, recognizing that bilateral symmetry itself, while widespread and fundamental in many lineages, does not categorically persist unchanged in all descendants over deep time.

BIOL 1001 (001-013) Exam 3: Unit 3

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER Once complex adaptations evolved, such as bilateral symmetry in animals, they are never lost.

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