Final answer:
Natural selection: Peppered moths in Britain adapted to industrial pollution by developing dark wings. Random genetic drift: A storm on an isolated island can cause changes in allele frequencies in a small fruit fly population. Mutation: Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a real-life example of mutation. Gene flow: Wolves migrating to a new region can introduce new genetic variation to the local wolf population.
Step-by-step explanation:
Natural selection: One real-life example of natural selection is the adaptation of the peppered moth population in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the revolution, most peppered moths had light-colored wings that helped them blend with their environment. However, as industrial pollution darkened the environment, a mutation caused some moths to develop dark-colored wings, which provided better camouflage on polluted tree trunks. As a result, the dark-winged moths had a higher survival rate and reproduced more, leading to an increase in the frequency of the dark-winged allele in the population.
Random genetic drift: An example of random genetic drift can be seen in a small population of fruit flies on an isolated island. Imagine that the island is hit by a strong storm, killing a significant portion of the fruit fly population. The survivors, through chance alone, may have different allele frequencies than the original population. Over time, this random sampling and reproduction of the surviving flies can result in changes to the genetic makeup of the population.
Mutation: A real-life example of mutation can be found in the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Antibiotics target specific bacterial traits, killing susceptible bacteria but leaving behind those with genetic mutations that make them resistant to the antibiotics. Over time, these resistant bacteria can become more prevalent in a population, leading to antibiotic-resistant strains.
Gene flow: An example of gene flow can occur when animals from one population migrate to another population and reproduce. For instance, if a group of wolves from one region migrates to a different region and mates with the local population, they can introduce new genetic variation to the local population. This gene flow can lead to the spread of advantageous traits or the dilution of unique traits in the local population.