In a population of mice, individuals with medium brown fur are less likely to be seen by predators than light brown and dark brown mice. What type of selection is this, and what would the distribution curve for the mouse population look like?

Question

In a population of mice, individuals with medium brown fur are less likely to be seen by predators than light brown and dark brown mice. What type of selection is this, and what would the distribution curve for the mouse population look like?
1. stabilizing; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph
2. disruptive; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph
3. disruptive; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle
4. stabilizing; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The scenario you described involves individuals with medium brown fur being favored by natural selection because they are less likely to be seen by predators compared to light brown and dark brown mice. This type of selection is known as stabilizing selection, which favors the average or intermediate phenotype while selecting against the extremes.

As a result, the distribution curve of the mouse population would show a tall and narrow peak in the center, reflecting the higher frequency of medium brown fur mice compared to the light and dark brown fur mice.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

1. stabilizing; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph.