This passage describes the inherited trait of venom type in coral snakes.
a coral snake from South America
Some coral snakes hunt prey in the water, and
others hunt prey on land. Coral snakes may eat
fish, mice, or even other species of snakes!
A coral snake uses venom, or poison from its
fangs, to kill its prey. Each coral snake produces
a certain type of venom, and certain types of
venom are more toxic to certain types of prey.
For example, fish-specific venom is more toxic to
fish, but snake-specific venom is more toxic to
snakes.
The table below describes a possible population of coral snakes over a time period long
enough for natural selection to occur. The table shows venom type in the population at the
start and end of this period.
Data about a population of coral snakes
Point in time Percentage with snake-specific venom Percentage with fish-specific venom
Start
End
10.5%
55.6%
89.5%
44.4%
Complete the following statements to construct the hypothesis that is best supported by the
data.
Over this time period, snakes with snake-specific venom were
likely to
survive and reproduce than snakes with fish-specific venom. This means that having
snake-specific venom was
advantageous than having fish-specific venom.