Question

Consider the two phylogenies below of five species of related flowers that hold nectar as a reward for their pollinators, five related species of moths, in their spur.
The similar pattern of the phylogenies suggests the characteristics coevolved with one another. Which of the following is an accurate statement reflecting the figure above?
a. The flowers and moths cannot co-speciate because co-speciation only occurs in host-parasite relationships.
b. The flowers and moths experienced the same allopatric speciation events during their history.
c. This is not an example of co-speciation. Each phylogeny represents the variation present in each population of the flower and the moth.
d. The flowers and moths coevolved, so that spur-length and tongue-length each evolved because of changes in the other.

Answer 1

The flowers and moths coevolved, so that spur-length and tongue-length each evolved because of changes in the other.

Option D

Explanation:

The coevolution is a phenomenon where two organisms that are directly dependent on each other by means of food, or shelter, or both evolve simultaneously keeping the characters complementary so that their relationship doesn't get hampered.

Here in this question the moth and the flower is seen. As the length of the spur increased in flower, the moths with short spur couldn't have the nectar with their short tongue and couldn't survive. So the moths with long tongue survived and hence the co evolution continued.