Asked by v
Which of the following can typically decrease genetic variation?
toxins
predator-prey relationships
competition
new habitat
disasters
increased food supply
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Typical causes that decrease genetic variation from your list:
- Toxins — strong directional selection kills susceptible genotypes, reducing variation.
- Competition — selection favors the best competitors and can eliminate less-fit genotypes.
- New habitat — founder effect: a small number of colonists carry only a subset of the original population’s alleles.
- Disasters — population bottlenecks eliminate many individuals and alleles, lowering variation.
Less likely to decrease variation:
- Predator‑prey relationships — often maintain or generate variation via frequency‑dependent or fluctuating selection (though they can reduce variation in some cases).
- Increased food supply — usually increases population size and can maintain or increase genetic variation (relaxes some selection).
- Toxins — strong directional selection kills susceptible genotypes, reducing variation.
- Competition — selection favors the best competitors and can eliminate less-fit genotypes.
- New habitat — founder effect: a small number of colonists carry only a subset of the original population’s alleles.
- Disasters — population bottlenecks eliminate many individuals and alleles, lowering variation.
Less likely to decrease variation:
- Predator‑prey relationships — often maintain or generate variation via frequency‑dependent or fluctuating selection (though they can reduce variation in some cases).
- Increased food supply — usually increases population size and can maintain or increase genetic variation (relaxes some selection).
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