An earthquake decimates a ground-squirrel population.The surviving population happens to have broader stripes on average than the initial population.If broadness of stripes is genetically determined,what effect has the ground-squirrel population experienced during the earthquake?
A)directional selection
B)disruptive selection
C)a founder event
D)a genetic bottleneck
E)gene flow

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A genetic bottleneck occurs when a population undergoes a drastic decrease in size, leading to a reduction in genetic diversity. In this case, the earthquake caused a decrease in the ground-squirrel population, resulting in a smaller surviving population with broader stripes. This is an example of genetic drift, which can lead to changes in the frequency of alleles in a population, such as the allele for broader stripes becoming more common.

An Earthquake Decimates a Ground-Squirrel Population