Question

A team of scientists is investigating evolution in anoles, which are a type of lizard. First, the team obtains a small breeding population of anoles from their natural habitat in a tropical rain forest. Then, they release the population onto a tropical island. The team plans to return to the island in 5 years to observe the population and record any changes. Which mechanism could affect the evolution of the anoles, yet does not involve natural selection? A. competition for food from other lizards on the island B. genetic drift, due to the choice of anoles for the founding population C. decreasing fitness due to hand and feet shape, which may prevent anoles from climbing trees D. increasing fitness due to body coloration, which may provide camouflage from predators

Answer 1

Option-B

Step-by-step explanation:

Genetic drift refers to the change in the frequency of alleles (determines the trait of an organism) over some time due to chances.

Genetic drift is one of the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of an organism as the alleles could disappear from the small population randomly or new population could be founded.

In the given questions, a small population of anoles were transferred from the tropical rainforest to the new island and when observed after 5 years then the evolution could be observed as a result of the genetic drift. Genetic drift could be responsible as the anoles were chosen from the tropical forest which could be considered a chance or random event.

Thus, Option-B is the correct answer.