In a population of mice, individuals with medium brown fur are less likely to be seen by predators than light brown and dark brown mice. What type of selection is this, and what would the distribution curve for the mouse population look like?(1 point)

Question

In a population of mice, individuals with medium brown fur are less likely to be seen by predators than light brown and dark brown mice. What type of selection is this, and what would the distribution curve for the mouse population look like?(1 point)
Responses

disruptive; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph
disruptive; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph

disruptive; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle
disruptive; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle

stabilizing; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle
stabilizing; two peaks at either end of the graph with a dip in the middle

stabilizing; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph
stabilizing; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph
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GPT-4o mini · Answer

The scenario described indicates that medium brown fur is favored by predators, which means that the population is likely experiencing stabilizing selection. This type of selection favors the intermediate phenotype (medium brown in this case) while selecting against the extreme phenotypes (light brown and dark brown).

As a result, the distribution curve for the mouse population would look like:

stabilizing; a tall, narrow peak in the center of the graph.

This suggests that there are relatively fewer individuals at the extremes (light and dark brown) and a higher concentration of individuals with medium brown fur, resulting in a peak at the medium phenotype on the graph.