Consider the following scenario:

An animal is born with a shorter tail. This makes no difference to its ability to survive or reproduce, but as a result of pure luck, the animal survives, reproduces, and passes its shorter tail down to its offspring. Over time, the species develops a shorter tail.

What type of process is described in this scenario?

(1 point)
Responses

natural selection
natural selection

artificial selection
artificial selection

genetic modification
genetic modification

genetic drift
genetic drift
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1 answer

The process described in the scenario is genetic drift. This is because the change in tail length occurs due to random chance rather than because of any advantage or disadvantage in survival or reproduction. In this case, the shorter tail does not impact the animal's fitness, so the trait becomes prevalent purely through luck over generations.