in a bird population, 50 % of the individuals had white feathers, and 50% had colored feathers. over time…

in a bird population, 50 % of the individuals had white feathers, and 50% had colored feathers. over time, it was observed that 98% of the population had colorful feathers. the rest had white feathers. how did the type of selection in this example affect the populations biodiversity?\n○ directional selection did not increase the populations biodiversity.\n○ stabilizing selection increased the populations biodiversity.\n○ disruptive selection decreased the populations biodiversity.\n○ ecosystem selection did not increase the populations biodiversity.

in a bird population, 50 % of the individuals had white feathers, and 50% had colored feathers. over time, it was observed that 98% of the population had colorful feathers. the rest had white feathers. how did the type of selection in this example affect the populations biodiversity?\n○ directional selection did not increase the populations biodiversity.\n○ stabilizing selection increased the populations biodiversity.\n○ disruptive selection decreased the populations biodiversity.\n○ ecosystem selection did not increase the populations biodiversity.

Answer

Brief Explanations:

  1. Analyze selection types:
    • Directional selection: Favors one extreme phenotype (here, colorful feathers became dominant, moving from 50% to 98%). This reduces variation (biodiversity) as one trait becomes more common.
    • Stabilizing selection: Favors intermediate phenotypes, reducing extremes (not the case here as one trait became dominant).
    • Disruptive selection: Favors two extremes, increasing biodiversity (opposite of what happened).
    • Ecosystem selection is not a standard natural selection type.
  2. Evaluate options:
    • First option: Directional selection (favoring colorful feathers) reduced variation, so it did not increase biodiversity. This matches.
    • Second option: Stabilizing selection would not increase biodiversity here (and the scenario is not stabilizing).
    • Third option: Disruptive selection would increase, not decrease, biodiversity (incorrect).
    • Fourth option: Ecosystem selection is not a valid natural selection category for this context.

Answer:

A. Directional selection did not increase the population's biodiversity.