A species of fox lives in the arctic where the ground is covered in white snow most of the year. These arctic foxes hunt rodents and other small mammals, while their predators include eagles, wolves, and polar bears. A mutation in its DNA causes a fox to have white fur rather than brown. Given this information, would you classify this mutation as a harmful, beneficial, or neutral mutation? Would this make the fox more or less likely to survive? Explain your answer.

Question

(4 points)

Answer 1

The mutation causing the fox to have white fur instead of brown would be classified as a beneficial mutation in this case. This is because the white fur would provide the fox with better camouflage in the snowy arctic environment, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings and avoid detection by predators. This increased level of camouflage would make the fox more likely to survive, as it would have a better chance of successfully hunting for food and avoiding being hunted itself. Therefore, the mutation conferring white fur would give the fox an advantage in its environment, making it a beneficial mutation for the species.

Answer 2

Rabbits are very popular domesticated animals, so popular that there are over 300 breeds of domesticated rabbits in the world. You attend a rabbit show and notice that all of the breeds vary in many characteristics, such as size, color, and fur length. You notice that there is weight information on the cages of all rabbit individuals at the show and decide to jot down data for two specific rabbit breeds (in pounds):

Breed A: 10, 8, 7, 10, 9, 9, 10, 9

Breed B: 10, 12, 14, 13, 10, 15, 11, 12

In three to five sentences, 1) calculate the average weights of the two rabbit breed groups, 2) describe some factors that could contribute to the different weights seen within breeds, and 3) describe how you would track and find the growth rate of the two rabbit breeds during an investigation.

(4 points)