Why are certain traits adaptations in one environment, but not in another? Biology help .?

Aldo Decurtis: The answer is C. A and B are nuts. D is close, but a mutation isn't an adaptation unless it is selected for by the organism's environment; that is, unless it helps the organism succeed in its environment. Most mutations don't turn out to be adaptations.C means something like different environments require different skills or abilities to survive there. For example elephants' ears have a lot of surface area, with blood flowing through them, and elephant skin is exposed with relatively little hair and these features are adaptations in their hot environments where they need to give off heat and cool down, but would not be adaptations in very cold, arctic environments where they would need to retain heat. Abiotic conditions means aspects of the environment that are not living (bio- means life, and the prefix a- means without or not), like its climate or geography.The only thing in C that I am uncomfortable with is that evolution and adaptations don't depen! d on abiotic conditions alone; they also depend on biotic conditions. But differing abiotic conditions is ONE reason adaptations in one environment are not adaptations in another, and C is still the only choice that can be correct in any sense....Show more