It has taken millions of years for the ancestors of whales to change into what we know today, as indicated in the diagram below. 60 million years ago
35 million years ago
Based on your knowledge of evolution, which of the following is a reasonable explanation of why the organisms in the diagram changed over the 25 million years?
A. As the environment changed the predators on land became better adapted to hunting the whales' ancestors forcing them to live in more aquatic environments.
B. As the environment changed the temperature became too hot and the organisms began to move to a more aquatic environment to keep cool.
C. As the environment changed the food sources became more difficult to obtain so characteristics that allowed the organisms to hunt in an aquatic environment
became more advantageous.
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D. As the environment changed the food sources became more difficult to obtain so the organisms decided to change their characteristics to ones that would be
beneficial when hunting in an aquatic environment.