After reading the paragraphs below, answer the questions that follow.

In 2004, scientists announced the discovery of the fossil remains of some extremely short early humans on the Indonesian island of Flores. The new species has been named Homo floresiensis. One hypothesis is that H. floresiensis evolved from Homo erectus, another early human species. How did a population of H. erectus become isolated on this remote island? Early humans constructed boats and rafts, so perhaps they were blown far off course by strong winds during a storm. H. erectus averaged almost 6 feet in height, but the remains show that adults of H. floresiensis were only about 3 feet tall. It is hypothesized that limited resources on this hot and humid island (only 31 square miles) exerted selection pressure, and succeeding generations began to shrink in size. Small bodies require less food, use less energy, and are easier to cool than larger bodies. Evolution of small size in similar circumstances has been observed in many other species but never before in humans. This find demonstrates that evolutionary forces operate on humans in the same way as on all other organisms.

The evolution of H. floresiensis is an example of ________.

H. floresiensis is a species of hominid. It differs significantly than the other hominid species in size though, as it appears to be a dwarfed version of its ancestors and close relatives. Its alleged ancestor is literary twice taller, which brings in the question as to what has triggered such an evolutionary adaptation.

This hominid species lived only on a relatively small island, in isolation. The resources are very limited, and the climate is warm and humid all year around. As seen in many species of animals, when individuals get into such an environment, they tend to experience either island dwarfism, or island gigantism. The island dwarfism tends to be common among large and medium sized species, while the island gigantism tends to be more common among the small species.

When the ancestors of H. floresiensis ended up in this environment, it was advantageous for them to smaller. The reason for that is that smaller bodies require less nutrition, and are also producing less heat.

Learn more about the effects an island has on the animals https://brainly.com/question/12372014

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