SAT Reading & Writing · Command of Evidence (textual)
A population of Italian wall lizards introduced to a new island developed larger heads and new internal gut structures over several…
A population of Italian wall lizards introduced to a new island developed larger heads and new internal gut structures over several decades, coinciding with a shift toward a more plant-heavy diet. A magazine article states that this case definitively proves the changes were caused by genetic evolution instead of the lizards' bodies simply adapting flexibly within their lifetimes. Which finding would most directly undermine the magazine's claim?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: The original research on this population was not designed to distinguish between genetic evolutionary change and developmental plasticity, meaning both explanations remain possible based on the…
The magazine's claim requires ruling out an entire alternative explanation, developmental flexibility within an individual lifetime, and D directly shows that the original study wasn't equipped to do that, so "definitively proves" overstates what the evidence can support. A and C restate facts already given in the setup without addressing the genetics-versus-plasticity question. B is unrelated background about research history.
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