Final answer:
The number of combinations of maternal and paternal chromosomes due to random alignment at metaphase I for a species with 23 pairs of chromosomes is 2^23, resulting in over 8 million possible combinations.
Step-by-step explanation:
During meiosis I, particularly at metaphase I, the random independent assortment of homologous chromosomes results in diverse combinations of paternal and maternal chromosomes in the gametes. In a species that has 23 pairs of chromosomes, like humans, the number of possible combinations of chromosomes that can occur due to random alignment at metaphase I is 2n, where n is the number of chromosome pairs.
Since humans have n = 23, we calculate 223 to find the number of possible combinations. This leads to 8,388,608 possible combinations, or more simply put over 8 million configurations, which are represented mathematically as 223.
Therefore, the value representing the number of combinations of maternal and paternal chromosome combinations that are possible due to random alignment at metaphase I is 223, corresponding to over 8 million unique genetic combinations.