Hunting reduced the population size of the northern elephant seal to as few as 20 individuals at the end of the 19th century. Their population has since rebounded to over 30,000, but they have much less genetic variation than a population of southern elephant seals that was not so intensely hunted. How is the lack of genetic variation related to the hunting episodes of the 1800's?

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Biology

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20 March, 15:51

Hunting reduced the population size of the northern elephant seal to as few as 20 individuals at the end of the 19th century. Their population has since rebounded to over 30,000, but they have much less genetic variation than a population of southern elephant seals that was not so intensely hunted. How is the lack of genetic variation related to the hunting episodes of the 1800's?

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Answers (2)

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Heidi Boyd · Answer 1

Population bottleneck can be described as a situation in which the population of a species declines rapidly to n endangered level due to different environmental factors. Such events can lead to losing of the diverse genetic pool of that organism. As a result, these organisms will carry limited variations in their traits. The phenomenon of population bottleneck can lead to rapid loss of different alleles form an ecosystem.

Hence, the phenomenon of population bottleneck shows the connection between the lack of genetic variation and the hunting episodes of the 1800's.

Damari Odonnell · Answer 2

The answer is A / Genetic drift occurred: the few individuals left behind were the seals that passed on that specific gene pool.

Explanation:

Genetic drift occurred: the few individuals left behind were the seals that passed on that specific gene pool. Genetic drift, along with natural selection, mutation, and migration, is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution. That certain members of a population survive happens by chance.