Garter snakes eat poisonous newts. Selection favors increased resistance to the poison. Garter snakes must also escape their own predators, and they do so by crawling away (fast snakes are more likely to escape than slow snakes are). After studying snakes for some time, you discover that (1) both resistance and speed are highly heritable and (2) selection on resistance and speed is strong. Nonetheless, you find that neither trait increases very much each generation. Explain this result.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer of Garter snakes eat poisonous newts. Selection favors increased resistance to the poison. Garter snakes must also escape their own predators, and they do so by crawling away (fast snakes are more likely to escape than slow snakes are). After studying snakes for some time, you discover that (1) both resistance and speed are highly heritable and (2) selection on resistance and speed is strong. Nonetheless, you find that neither trait increases very much each generation. Explain this result.

Garter Snakes Eat Poisonous Newts