testwizard evolution questions Multiple choice

According to the theory of biological evolution, most present-day species of organisms

descended from earlier, different species of organisms

The Galapagos pink land iguana, Conolophus marthae(C. marthae), is native to only one of the Galapagos Islands. Its entire range is currently limited to Wolf Volcano on Isabella Island. The iguana was first discovered on this island in 1986. Genetic studies of the animal began sometime later, and it was identified as a species separate from other iguana populations on the Galapoagos in 2009. Its population might have been as high as 100 in 1986, but now there might be as few as 10 of the animals left alive. Other evidence indicates that this species could have diverged from another line of iguanas about 5.7 million years ago. After that, the other line of iguanas diverged into two other species, C. pallidus and C. subcristatus. One likely reason for the existence of these pink land iguanas today is that their ancestors

had variations not present in other iguanas that allowed them to live in particular environment more successfully than the other iguanas

The sorting and recombination of genes during reproduction is important to evolution because these processes

increase variation that enables species to adapt to change

Fossils provide evidence that

many species of organisms that lived long ago are now extinct

A scientist at a large natural history museum has a collection of fossils that were found throughout the world. Only a few of the fossils represent species that are still alive on Earth today. One reason for this is that

most of the species that have ever lived on Earth are extinct

The first life-forms to appear on Earth were most likely

simple single-celled organisms