33. Evolutionary biologists have observed variation in the average age and size

Question

33. Evolutionary biologists have observed variation in the average age and size of mature individuals in a population of small freshwater guppies Guppies found in pools with pike cichlids- a predator fish that preys primarily on larger guppies-reproduce at a young age and are small at maturity. Guppies found in pools with killifish -a different predator fish that preys primarily on smaller guppies-reproduce at an older age and are larger at maturity Which of the following predicts the most likely outcome of moving a population of guppies from a pool with pike cichlids to a pool with killifish? (A) The introduced guppy population will remain phenotypically similar to the original population because the killifish will not recognize them as prey (B) Because the introduced population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, successive generations in the new population will continue to display the same allele frequencies as the original population. (C) After many generations, the offspring of the introduced guppies will mature at an older age and larger size because of selective pressure from the new predator (D) Within two or three generations, the introduced guppies will become extinct because the killifish prefer the juveniles

Explanation / Answer

Option C is the correct answer. Here, guppies found in pool with killifish reproduce at an older age and are larger at maturity. This feature of guppies is an adaptation against the predation by killifish which has been developed due to selective pressure and thus if guppies from pool with pike cichlids will move to the pool with killifish they will also develop this adaptation to protect them from predation due to selective pressure after many generations.

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