Question

How does the breeding of domesticated animals provide evidence for the power of evolution to produce diverse phenotypes?

1) Over its lifetime, each domesticated animal develops new phenotypes to help it adapt to the diet provided by human breeders.
2) Domesticated animals have phenotypes that benefit humans and that do not appear in related wild populations.
3) Humans genetically modify domesticated animals to achieve desired traits, but these new phenotypes are not heritable.
4) Domestic breeding programs increase DNA mutations in animals so that the desired phenotypes evolve more quickly.

Answer 1

The breeding of domesticated animals provides evidence for the power of evolution to produce diverse phenotypes through the development of new traits to adapt to human-provided environments, the appearance of phenotypes that benefit humans, and the increase in genetic variation through selective breeding programs.

Step-by-step explanation:

The breeding of domesticated animals provides evidence for the power of evolution to produce diverse phenotypes in several ways:

1. Over its lifetime, each domesticated animal develops new phenotypes to help it adapt to the diet provided by human breeders. For example, through selective breeding, dogs have been bred to have different coat colors, sizes, and temperaments to better suit different environments and human needs.
3. Domesticated animals have phenotypes that benefit humans and that do not appear in related wild populations. One example is the large variety of dog breeds that have been selectively bred for specific traits like herding, hunting, or companionship.
5. Domestic breeding programs increase DNA mutations in animals so that the desired phenotypes evolve more quickly. By selectively breeding animals with desired traits over generations, genetic variation increases, leading to the appearance of new phenotypes.

These examples demonstrate how domestication and selective breeding can lead to the development of diverse phenotypes in domesticated animals, providing evidence for the power of evolution.