You Are Earning Your Ph

Multiple Choice

You are earning your Ph.D.in marine biology,studying the microbial ocean community.This year,you are shocked to discover that one of your study sites has become contaminated due to an industrial waste water pipe.This dumping is drastically raising the temperature and lowering the salinity of the water.What do you expect to find in your survey of the ecosystem,and what might you find in a survey years from now?

A) Most species will be wiped out this year,and in subsequent years even fewer will remain.
B) The individuals will turn on genes to adapt to these changes,and the populations will end up largely the same this year and following years.
C) Many species will have decreased or disappeared from this site,but later some species may increase in population if they acquire adaptive mutations.Also you may see some new species expand into the site.
D) Most species will be wiped out this year,and it will take millions of years for new species to evolve -- until then the site will be devoid of life.