Scientists Have Documented That Spring Seasons Starting Earlier Due to Climate

Multiple Choice

Scientists have documented that spring seasons starting earlier due to climate change have resulted in some caterpillar species beginning their maturation stage earlier than normal. There are bird species that need the caterpillars to feed their chicks. However, since the caterpillars are maturing before the chicks hatch (and therefore cannot be used for chick food) , the birds are experiencing a drop in their lifetime reproductive success. Interestingly, scientists have also documented that the individual birds that are successful in altering their egg-laying patterns to align with earlier spring seasons have the greatest lifetime reproductive success. These phenomena are examples of ________.

A) an evolutionary response to climate change
B) an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions due to climate change
C) a change in species distribution due to climate change
D) the effects of terrestrial biome distribution due to climate change