Question

Ostriches don’t use their wings for flight, but they do use them for other functions, such as mating rituals and balance. Many ancestors of ostriches did fly. What can you conclude about ostrich behavior from this information?
A)Ostriches inherited the genes for wings from their ancestors, even though the function of these structures changed.
B)Ostriches developed mutations in their wings to willfully adapt to their current environment.
C)Ostriches lack a close evolutionary relationship with these ancestral birds.
DIn the near future, ostriches will have no wings because they have no need for them.

Answer 1

I would go with A, they inherited the wings even though they don't need them today, since evolution has changed the Ostrich in some way.

Answer 2

The right option is; A. Ostriches inherited the genes for wings from their ancestors, even though the function of these structures changed.

From this information, what can be concluded about ostrich behavior is that ostriches inherited the genes for wings from their ancestors, even though the function of these structures changed. The wings of the ostriches are called a vestigial structure. Species inherits the genes for vestigial structures from their ancestors but these structures have lost some or all of their ancestral function. In species, the structures do not function the same way they functioned in the specie’s ancestor. This may occur due to a mutation in their genome.