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 in 2 short sentences

Question

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 in 2 short sentences

GPT 3.5 · Answer

This mutation would be classified as a beneficial mutation, as the white fur would help the fox blend into its snowy environment, making it less visible to predators. This would increase the fox's chances of survival and successful hunting.