A hypothetical endangered species of wildflower has been reduced to a single small population in a mountain meadow. A rare early spring blizzard kills all but three of the remaining plants, one of which has a rare mutation. This is an example of:
A)natural selection.
B)sexual selection.
C)genetic drift/bottleneck.
D)genetic drift/founder event.
E)None of the answer options is correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a drastic reduction in population size (bottleneck) due to the blizzard, which has caused genetic drift to occur. The fact that one of the remaining plants has a rare mutation further supports the idea that genetic drift is occurring. Natural selection and sexual selection require a process of selection based on advantageous traits, which is not described in the scenario. A founder event involves a new population being established from a subset of a larger population, which is not the case here.

A Hypothetical Endangered Species of Wildflower Has Been Reduced to a Single