Question:
A hawk has a genetic trait that gives it much better eyesight than other hawks of the same species in the same area. Explain how this could lead to evolutionary change within this species of a hawk over a long period of time. In your answer, be sure to include an explanation of:
A. competition within the hawk population
B. survival of various individuals in the population
C. how the frequency of the better-eyesight trait would be expected to change over time within the population
D. what would most likely happen to the hawks having the better-eyesight trait if they also had unusually weak wing muscles
Answer:
The simple answer is via natural selection.
As hawks compete for relatively scarce food those whose eye-sight is sharper get a better chance of winning the food.
As they win more and more food, they become stronger and stronger and get better at getting even more food whilst the population that can't get enough food die out of starvation.
Another element of natural selection is that of genetics. The hawks that are stronger due to their ability to compete for a food stand a better chance of passing on their genes to the females within the population who most likely would also defer to stronger males than the weaker ones.
So essentially, physically and genetically, the hawks with the better eyesight get to survive the harsh realities of the wild because sharp eyesight is essential for spotting the prey.
In some cases, there are hawks with weak muscle wings. Weak muscle wings mean that they will be as disadvantaged as the hawks with poor outsight and will eventually share the same fate with them.
The winning hawk is the one with both sharp eye sights, sharp beaks for tearing flesh faster than the other, strong wings for quick dive, sharp talons for holding on to prey that has been captured, etc.
Over time, the population of hawks with the stronger traits such as sharp eyesight will increase whilst the other will decrease and as earlier explained, this will happen due to natural selection - a survival of the fittest.
Cheers!
