Hey guys, i just needa lil help understanding and applying the term selection pressure.
According to VCAA, a selection pressure is a factor in an organisms environment that impacts its survival and reproductive success and removes unsuited individuals from the environment, or something like that. This includes things like predation, hunting, increase in climate temperature, etc right???
But I’m still struggling to understand the term in context. For example, for the question “What selection pressures are likely to have been improtant in the evoltuion of bipedalism initially?”, (biozone), the model answer was:
-> “the selection pressures for bipedalism was most probably associated with provisioning, being able to collect and carry food is a major advantage”
What exactly does this mean 😭
Another Biozone question: “name two possible selection pressures acting on the human hand”.
The model answer: the need to manipulate objects and the abiltiy to form a fist and deliver a blow to an attacker”
— Again how is the need to do something a selction pressure?? I jsut can’t seem to get my head around this term and apply it.
Another question: TSSM 2019 biology exam Q7 f : “What selection pressure was applied to the algae?”
This question was about this algae species that was preyed upon by a single cellled flagellate. This flagellate can’t consume large cells, so the algae that was able to form loose clumps survived better in presence of the predator than those alage cells living as a single cell.
So, in repose to what selction pressure is applied to alage, wouldn’t it be predation?
But the model answer was: “Avoiding been consumed”
If someone could help me understand this term, it would be great. I know I lowkey made it confusing