Imagine that two men and two women settle on an uninhabited island, no new settlers arrive, and nobody leaves the island for many generations. All four of the settlers have brown eyes, but one of the men carries a recessive gene for blue eyes. Eye color has no effect on fitness. If the percentage of blue-eyed individuals on the island increases from 0% to 25%, what is the probable cause?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The increase in the percentage of blue-eyed individuals from 0% to 25% is likely due to genetic drift, a random change in the frequency of a gene within a small population due to chance events. In this case, the man carrying the recessive gene for blue eyes happened to have offspring with blue eyes, which then passed on the gene to their offspring resulting in an increase in the frequency of the allele over time. There is no indication of artificial or natural selection, or random mutation playing a role in this scenario.

Imagine That Two Men and Two Women Settle on an Uninhabited