Figure 19.4Do you think genetic drift would happen more quickly on an island or on the mainland?

Short Answer

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An island's geographical area is substantially less than that of the main landmass. As a result, genetic drift occurs most swiftly on an island. The island species are self-pollinating and do not require the introduction of new DNA. As a result, genetic drift can be easily tracked.

Step by step solution

01

Introduction

Genetic drift explains how all forms of gene variations in a population fluctuate at random. When alleles, or variants in a gene, arise, genetic drift occurs. Changes in allele frequencies are used to quantify these allele variants.

02

Explanation : 

An island's geographical area is substantially less than that of the main landmass. As a result, genetic drift occurs most swiftly on an island. Other variables also have an impact on the mainland's gene frequency variation. Natural selection played a role in this. Genetic drift causes mutations, migration, and alterations.

As a result, the population size of species on the mainland is substantially larger than on an island. As a result, gene frequency is extremely low and difficult to track. The island species, on the other hand, interbreeds among itself and does not require the introduction of new genes. As a result, genetic drift can be easily tracked.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

When closely related individuals mate with each other, or inbreed, the offspring are often not as fit as the offspring of two unrelated individuals. Why?

a. Close relatives are genetically incompatible.

b. The DNA of close relatives reacts negatively in the offspring.

c. Inbreeding can bring together rare, deleterious mutations that lead to harmful phenotypes.

d. Inbreeding causes normally silent alleles to be expressed.

What is assortative mating?

a. when individuals mate with those who are similar to themselves

b. when individuals mate with those who are dissimilar to themselves

c. when individuals mate with those who are the most fit in the population

d. when individuals mate with those who are least fit in the population

What is a cline?

a. the slope of a mountain where a population lives

b. the degree to which a mutation helps an individual survive

c. the number of individuals in the population

d. gradual geographic variation across an ecological gradient

Imagine you are trying to test whether a population of flowers is undergoing evolution. You suspect there is selection pressure on the color of the flower: bees seem to cluster around the red flowers more often than the blue flowers. In a separate experiment, you discover blue flower color is dominant to red flower color. In a field, you count 600 blue flowers and 200 red flowers. What would you expect the genetic structure of the flowers to be?

Give an example of a trait that may have evolved as a result of the handicap principle and explain your reasoning.

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