A landslide has isolated a portion of the cicada population from the main population. After several generations, the new generations of cicadas exhibited significant genetic differences from the original population. Which mechanism is most likely responsible for these differences? A. Bottleneck effect B. Disruptive selection C. Migration, or gene flow
Biology · Middle School · Mon Jan 18 2021
Answered on
The mechanism most likely responsible for these genetic differences is A. Bottleneck effect.
The bottleneck effect occurs when a population's size is significantly reduced for at least one generation, and as a result of this reduction, the genetic variation within the population is also reduced. In the case of the cicadas you've mentioned, the landslide that isolated a portion of the population would have created a 'bottleneck'. This small, isolated population, over several generations, may exhibit genetic drift where certain alleles become more or less common purely by chance, as well as potential inbreeding effects which can further differentiate the gene pool from the original population.