Mining for gold produces waste material which contains sulfur-bearing minerals. When surface water and shallow groundwater come into contact with these minerals a chemical reaction occurs which produces sulfuric acid. This process is known as acid mine drainage and it can lower the soil pH to a level where very few plants can survive.
Environmentalists studied the area around an abandoned gold mine and discovered a few earleaf acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) individuals surviving in the acidic soil. A. auriculiformis typically occurs in more neutral or alkaline soils.
Explain how natural selection could produce a population of A. auriculiformis that would be tolerant to the acidic soil found around the mine shaft.
A. auriculiformis typically flowers from April to July in its native habitat. Ecologists studied the flowering time of the population of A. auriculiformis that are tolerant to low soil pH and compared it to the flowering time of a population growing in the surrounding habitat which was not tolerant to low soil pH. They measured the density of flowers found on the trees over a period of 180 days from 20 April.
The graph below shows the results of this study.
Describe the flowering times of normal and acid-tolerant A. auriculiformes.
Explain how the results shown in the graph at part (b) could lead to the development of a new species of acacia.
The change in soil pH can lead to the formation of a new species over time.
State what is meant by the term 'species'.
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