A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, th

Question

A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, the population was never fewer than 30 squirrels and never more than 45. Her data showed that over half of the squirrels born did not survive to reproduce, because of both competition for food and predation. In a single generation, 90% of the squirrels that were born lived to reproduce, and the population increased to 80. Which inference(s) about this population might be true?

A) The amount of available food may have increased.
B) The parental generation of squirrels developed better eyesight due to improved diet; the subsequent squirrel generation inherited better eyesight.
C) The squirrels of subsequent generations should show greater levels of genetic variation than previous generations, because squirrels that would not have survived in the past will now survive.
D) Three of the statements above are correct.
E) Two of the statements above are correct.

Explanation / Answer

Answer: (E) Two of the statements above are correct.

Explanation:

The population increased either due to an increased availabilty of food, decrease in the number of predators, or generation of variants among the progenies due to recombination. The recombination events might have resulted in characters which are better suited for survival.

So, statements (A) and (C) might be true.

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