The Following Questions Refer to the Paragraph and Graphs Below

Multiple Choice

The following questions refer to the paragraph and graphs below.
In a hypothetical situation, the National Park Service, which administers Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, builds a footbridge over the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon. The footbridge permits interspersal of two closely related antelope squirrels. Previously, one type of squirrel had been restricted to the terrain south of the river, and the other type had been restricted to terrain on the north side of the river. Immediately before and ten years after the bridge's completion, ten antelope squirrels from both sides of the river were collected, blood samples were taken, and frequencies of alleles unique to the two types of antelope squirrels were determined (see graphs below) .


-Which of the following would be a position held by an adherent of the punctuated equilibrium theory?

A) A new species forms most of its unique features as it comes into existence and then changes little for the duration of its existence.
B) One should expect to find many transitional fossils left by organisms in the process of forming new species.
C) Given enough time, most existing species will gradually evolve into new species.
D) Natural selection is unimportant as a mechanism of evolution.