Darwin's observations of finches indicated descent withA) no change in species. B) inheritance of large bills. C) modification in bills. D)...

The answer is C. The ancestral finches from South America
migrated to the various islands of the Galapagos. Each island had its own unique habitat
and available food supply. In nature, competition usually ends with one species being
outcompeted and possibly becoming extinct, as in Gause's principle. However, in the
Galapagos, although many finches occupied the same niche, there was niche
diversification that occurred. In one tree, you can have finches that feed high up, in
the middle or at the ground level. Some can eat seeds, and those can be further
categorized by small, medium or large seeds, some eat insects, some use a cactus needle
as a tool, and some feed on the ground. Therefore, although they all descended from a
common finch ancestor, over two million years of evolution, these little differences in
their beak sizes and shape resulted in the many finch species seen today in the
Galapagos Islands.