One of the original Amish colonies rose from a ship of colonists that came from Europe. The ship’s captain, who had polydactyly, a rare dominant trait, was one of the original colonists. Today, we see a much higher frequency of polydactyly in the Amish population. This is an example of:

a. natural selection

b. genetic drift

c. founder effect

d. b and c

Short Answer

Expert verified

Correct option is (d), as (b) and (c) justify the much higher frequency of polydactyly in the Amish population by genetic drift and founder effect.

Step by step solution

01

 Natural selection : 

It is described as a process in which organisms reproduce and survive in diverse ways as a result of phenotypic alterations. It comprises a mild variation of a trait, which is retained if the variance benefits the individuals.

02

 Explanation : 

(b) Genetic drift is a term used to describe the process of a person' In a nutshell, genetic drift explains the occurrence of random variations in all forms of gene variants in a population. Genetic drift occurs when different variants of a gene, known as alleles, arise. Changes in allele frequencies are used to measure these alterations in alleles. These allele variants rise and diminish with time. Once genetic drift occurs, alleles are either lost or gained in a population.

(c) The influence of the founder effect. In population genetics, the founder effect occurs when a new population is created by a small number of individuals from a larger population, resulting in a shift and reduction in genetic variety.

(d) is represented by the letters b and c. Both of these options limit a population's genetic diversity. Polydactyly is more common in Amish colonies due to genetic drift and the founder effect. As a result, option is the proper response (d).

03

 Other option :

(a) Natural selection is a natural process in which an organism reproduces in a favorable environment and passes on its characteristics to the following generation. With time, organisms adapt to their surroundings and allow this process to take place. As a result, this is a fundamental evolutionary strategy that aids in the change of heritable features, and these qualities of a population are handed down across generations.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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

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?

Which of the following populations is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

a. a population with 12homozygous recessive individuals (yy), 8homozygous dominant individuals (YY), and 4heterozygous individuals (Yy)

b. a population in which the allele frequencies do not change over time

c.p2+2pq+q2=1

d. a population undergoing natural selection

What is the difference between micro- and macroevolution?

a. Microevolution describes the evolution of small organisms, such as insects, while macroevolution describes the evolution of large organisms, like people and elephants.

b. Microevolution describes the evolution of microscopic entities, such as molecules and proteins, while macroevolution describes the evolution of whole organisms.

c. Microevolution describes the evolution of organisms in populations, while macroevolution describes the evolution of species over long periods of time.

d. Microevolution describes the evolution of organisms over their lifetimes, while macroevolution describes the evolution of organisms over multiple generations.

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

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