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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 drift
genetic drift

genetic modification

1 answer

The scenario described involves an animal that is born with a shorter tail, which does not impact its ability to survive or reproduce. The shorter tail is passed down to offspring purely by chance, leading to a gradual change in the population over time. This process is best characterized by genetic drift.

Genetic drift refers to random changes in allele frequencies within a population, often having a more significant impact in small populations. It is not due to natural selection since the shorter tail does not provide any advantage or disadvantage.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

genetic drift