At the Seneca Army Depot in upstate New York, a mutant variety (white coat color) of white-tailed deer composes a much higher percentage of the population than one might consider normal for such a mutation. What is the reason for this?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Predator pressures were manipulated by humans at the Depot. The Seneca Army Depot is a fenced-in area that was used for the storage of munitions, and humans controlled the predator population within the fence. This artificially reduced predator population allowed the white-coated deer, which are more visible in the winter, to survive and reproduce more successfully than the nonmutant deer. As a result, the proportion of white-coated deer in the population increased over time.

At the Seneca Army Depot in Upstate New York, a Mutant