Question

A population of snowshoe hare rabbits lives in a particular region of the arctic tundra that experiences high winds, extremely cold temperatures, and receives very little snow. Their main predator is nocturnal and hunts by sound.
Which of the following mutations would best be classified as an adaptation in this population of snowshoe hares?

A)Longer and more vascularized ears.
B)Being less active in the day and more active at night.
C)A dense undercoat of fur beneath a longer top coat of fur.
D)A fur coloration pattern that allows them to visually camouflage with their surroundings.

Answer 1

Varying hare or snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is a species of hare present in North America, sometimes called the variable hare or snowshoe rabbit. Owing to the large scale of its hind paws, it has the tag "snowshoe" When it jumps and runs, the animal's paws keep it from falling into the snow. The legs also have insulation on the soles to safeguard them from cold conditions.

Complete answer:
In a habitat of predators, adaptations are a way to live. They may be physical modifications that assist them to camouflage or chemical adaptations within their environments that assist them to unleash such chemicals to paralyze their predators.
In this situation, as we have seen that a predator stalking at night and the aid of sound would not help any physical camouflage adaptation, the rabbit is wide and vascularized here, then it helps to distinguish the position of predators as the visibility is very poor in such a state.
Canada's lynx is a major predator of the snowshoe hare.

Historical accounts of animals captured over hundreds of years by fur hunters show the numbers of lynx and hare rising and dropping in a pattern that has made the hare known to students of biology worldwide as a case study of the relationship between predator numbers and their prey.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A)

Note: The climate for some snowshoe hares has shifted drastically, for longer stretches than ever, leaving some areas without snow. Some hares have evolved and remain brown all winter long. Others appear to turn white in winter, however. Since they are no longer camouflaged, these hares are at an increased risk of being tracked and killed.