Question

Over time, color variation in a population of butterflies declined. The number of color variations within the population was twelve in 1985. In 2005, the number of color variations reduced to three. What type of selection is responsible for reducing variation?

Answer 1

Stabilizing selection.

Step-by-step explanation:

Stabilizing selection is an type of natural selection. Stabilizing selection is the natural selection whereby the population (population mean) of species are stabilized or maintained by reducing the variation in the DNA sequence of the genomes of a population.

Examples of stabilizing selection is

a. the weight at which a person is born.

b. The outer coat or fur of animals.

Answer 2

The answer is stabilizing selection. This type of natural selection in which the population mean stabilizes on a particular non-extreme trait value. This type of natural selection is the most widely seen in which there are no drastic changes in traits of the population in long times. Extreme traits of the population are weeded out hence the subsequent generations of the population have less diversity than the initial. The illustration below shows this model in relation to the others.