An earthquake occurs and destroys 95 percent of a specific population.The surviving population displays gene frequencies that are different from those of the original population.This is likely due to:
A)new spontaneous mutations adaptive to the possibilities of more earthquakes
B)sampling error
C)an increased mutation rate
D)new selective pressures that arise after the earthquake

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of genetic drift, specifically a bottleneck effect, where a large portion of a population is suddenly eliminated, leaving a small, random sample of individuals. The gene frequencies in this smaller group can be significantly different from the original population simply due to chance (sampling error), not necessarily because of new mutations, increased mutation rates, or new selective pressures.

An Earthquake Occurs and Destroys 95 Percent of a Specific