Two frog populations (same species)living in two neighboring lakes sing slightly different courtship songs.Increased irrigation makes the land between the two lakes wetter,allowing frogs to expand their ranges to the area between the lakes.Females in both populations prefer loud frogs to quieter frogs,but do not distinguish between the two slightly different songs.Assuming that courtship song differences have a genetic basis,predict what will likely happen to the songs of the two frog populations.
A)The songs become more similar to each other.
B)Males will become louder.
C)Disruptive selection will cause the songs to differentiate even more.
D)Genetic drift will cause the songs to differentiate even more.
E)You cannot predict a change in the courtship songs at the two lakes.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The increased availability of habitat between the two lakes will allow for more opportunities for mating between individuals from the two populations. Since females prefer loudness in males rather than song differentiation, individuals with the loudest songs are likely to have more breeding success. Therefore, over time, the genetic makeup of the population is likely to shift towards those with the loudest songs, resulting in a convergence of the two populations towards a common courtship song type. This process is called gene flow, which leads to the reduction of genetic differences between populations.

Two Frog Populations (Same Species)living in Two Neighboring Lakes Sing