Question

In a snow-covered forest, natural selection acting on rabbits will cause:

A) The number of light-colored and dark-colored rabbits to increase.
B) The number of light-colored and dark-colored rabbits to decrease.
C) The number of light-colored and dark-colored rabbits to fluctuate slightly (go up and down).
D) The number of light-colored and dark-colored rabbits to stay the same.

Answer 1

In a snow-covered forest, natural selection will favor rabbits with white fur, leading to a form of directional selection that increases the allele for white fur and decreases the allele for dark fur in the population.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a snow-covered forest, natural selection acting on rabbits will primarily favor the survival of those with white fur over dark-colored rabbits. White fur is a beneficial trait that enhances the rabbits' camouflage in the snow, thus improving their chances of avoiding predators and surviving to reproduce. Over time, this selection pressure will result in the increase of the allele for white fur in the population, while the alleles for darker fur will become less common. This example describes a form of directional selection, where one extreme phenotype (white fur) is favored over other phenotypes (dark fur), leading to a shift in the population's genetic makeup.