Succulent plants such as aloes are known for their thick stems and leaves, which allow them to store water. which statement best explains how succulents' thick stems and leaves evolved through natural selection? a. thick stems and leaves were selected because succulents need to consume a large supply of water every day. b. thick stems and leaves were selected because they succulents take up more space, which in turn them capture more sunlight. c. thick stems and leaves were selected because they guarantee that young succulents already have all the water they will need for the rest of their lives. d. thick stems and leaves were selected because succulents with these characteristics are more likely to survive hot, dry weather and, thus, produce more offspring.

D. Thick stems and leaves were selected because succulents with these characteristics are more likely to survive hot, dry weather and, thus, produce more offspring

Explanation:

The succulents have not always been as they are now, but they have evolved from plants that looked different and existed in different weather conditions. As the environment has been changing, in order to survive, the succulents started to develop traits that would be advantageous for them to survive in the hot and dry weather. The succulents that started to develop such traits, like the thick stem and leaves were the ones selected to survive, as they were the ones that had the advantage in this type of environment. The thick stems and leaves enabled them to store as much water as possible when there is, and also to preserve it for long periods of time, while the succulents that didn't possessed this traits died out because they were not able to sustain the new conditions, nor to be able to reproduce effectively.

genetic variation can be caused by mutation (which can create entirely new alleles in a population), random mating, random fertilization, and recombination between homologous chromosomes during meiosis (which reshuffles alleles within an organism's offspring).