Tadpoles have different morphologies that determine their trophic position as either omnivorous or carnivorous. Researchers can quantify the trophic position of individual tadpoles on a scale where lower values indicate carnivores and higher values indicate omnivores. The graph shows fitness on the y-axis and trophic position on the x-axis for a tadpole population, with each dot representing a single tadpole. The solid line is the fitness curve and shows the population is experiencing disruptive selection favoring more extreme omnivorous and carnivorous phenotypes.

1. [Questions 21-22] The morphology of tadpoles influences what resources they can eat,
determining their trophic position. Tadpoles range from omnivorous (consuming detritus, algae,
and small crustaceans) to carnivorous (consuming fairy shrimp). Researchers can quantify the
trophic position of individuals, low values = carnivores, high values = omnivores. The following
graph shows the relationship between fitness ( y -axis) and trophic position ( x -axis) for a
particular tadpole population; each dot is a single tadpole, and the solid line represents the fitness
curve, ignore the dotted lines on the figure. Given these data, we can conclude that the
population is experiencing: Disruptive selection favoring more omnivorous phenotypes.
Disruptive selection favoring intermediate phenotypes. Directional selection favoring more
omnivorous phenotypes. Directional selection favoring more carnivorous phenotypes. Disruptive
selection favoring more carnivorous phenotypes. Over many generations, assuming trophic
position is a heritable trait, we would expect that this population's mean trophic position will
remain close to the same and variability in trophic position will increase. True False