There are two varieties in a population of squirrels: short tails and long tails. Long-tailed squirrels are better at jumping and balancing in trees. Scientists observe that over the span of 100 years, the proportion of the population with long tails increases from 10% to 60%. Why are the short-tailed squirrel population decreasing?
3 answers
The short-tailed squirrel population is decreasing because they are at a disadvantage compared to the long-tailed squirrels in terms of their ability to jump and balance in trees. This means that the long-tailed squirrels have a competitive advantage when it comes to survival and reproduction, leading to an increase in their population over time. As a result, the proportion of short-tailed squirrels in the population decreases as they are outcompeted by the long-tailed squirrels.
shorter answer
The short-tailed squirrels are being outcompeted by the long-tailed squirrels due to their disadvantage in jumping and balancing in trees, leading to a decrease in their population over time.
1 answer