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Verbal·Information and Ideas·Command of Evidence
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MonthAverage high (°F)Average low (°F)Average male wing centroid size (mm)Average female wing centroid size (mm)
October67441.982.29
May73501.982.27
July87622.022.31
September80541.982.27
Drosophila (fruit flies) have generation times of 10-12 days, so seasonal changes in humidity and other environmental conditions can drive seasonal fluctuations in chromosome rearrangements in species such as D. persimilis and D. subobscura. Drosophila body size (for which wing centroid size serves as a proxy measure) correlates with reproductive fitness. Banu Şebnem Önder and Cansu Fidan Aksoy measured the wing sizes of members of a D. melanogaster population in Yeşilöz, Turkey, that were collected monthly between May and October over three years. Their research suggests that Drosophila collected in relatively warmer months should tend to have greater reproductive fitness, as is illustrated by the finding that __________
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the assertion?
A
the average male wing centroid size was 1.98 mm in September but was 2.31 mm in July.
B
the average female wing centroid size was consistently larger than the male wing centroid size in all four months in the table.
C
the average monthly low temperature was higher in September than in May.
D
the average female wing centroid size was larger in July than in May.