GATE 2026 Life Sciences Q93

Question

Muscle performance is positively correlated with Darwinian fitness. The graph below describes the relationship between mean environmental temperature and muscle performance for two closely related lizard species, one living in temperate areas (solid line) and another living in tropical areas (dashed line). Current mean environmental temperatures are marked with vertical dotted lines at (i) for the temperate species and (ii) for the tropical species. If mean environmental temperatures at both locations increase at a steady rate over time, which one of the following is most likely to occur in the near future?

Accepted Answer

Temperate species may be positively impacted but tropical species will be negatively impacted

Answer

Temperate and tropical species will be negatively impacted to the same extent

Answer

Temperate species will be negatively impacted but tropical species will be positively impacted

Answer

Neither temperate nor tropical species will be impacted