A storm washed five female and five male tiger beetles from the mainland to a small island that had no previous population of tiger beetles. In tiger beetles, having six spots (A) is dominant to having four spots (a). All ten beetles had six spots, but one male and one female were heterozygous for the four-spot trait. If six of the beetles died randomly without reproducing, the ratio of the genotypes could be quite different in subsequent generations. This change in allele frequencies would be an example of:A. gene flow B. mutation C. genetic drift D. disruptive selection E. sexual selection

Question

Biology

Helena

15 September, 16:48

A storm washed five female and five male tiger beetles from the mainland to a small island that had no previous population of tiger beetles. In tiger beetles, having six spots (A) is dominant to having four spots (a). All ten beetles had six spots, but one male and one female were heterozygous for the four-spot trait. If six of the beetles died randomly without reproducing, the ratio of the genotypes could be quite different in subsequent generations. This change in allele frequencies would be an example of:A. gene flow B. mutation C. genetic drift D. disruptive selection E. sexual selection

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Lainey · Answer 1

Genetic Drift

Explanation:

Genetic drift refers to the change in the allele frequencies of the population due to some chance event. It does not include natural selection.

In the given example, a storm (a chance event) led to the arrival of ten beetles on the small island. This founder population of ten beetles exhibits a higher frequency of allele "A" than that of allele "a".

However, the death of six beetles (again, a chance event) before the production of any progeny would lead to a change in the frequencies of alleles A and a. Since the allele frequencies are changed accidentally, it represents genetic drift.