A biologist doing a long- term study on a wild spider population observes increased variation in silk thickness. She hypothesizes that the population is experiencing
A) disruptive selection.
B) genetic drift.
C) stabilizing selection.
D) directional selection.
E) sexual selection.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Increased variation in a trait is a characteristic of disruptive selection, where individuals with extreme phenotypes at either end of the range are favored over intermediates. In this case, spiders with very thick or very thin silk may have a selective advantage over those with intermediate silk thickness.

A Biologist Doing a Long- Term Study on a Wild