Question

The importance of random accumulation of small genetic changes sufficient to explain evolution was given by

• A. Haeckel
• B. Mayr
• C. Darwin
• D. Lamarck

Answer 1

The correct option is B Mayr

In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, using existing theoretical work by those such as Sewall Wright. As a result of the loss of genetic variation, the new population may be distinctively different, both genotypically and phenotypically, from the parent population from which it is derived. In extreme cases, the founder effect is thought to lead to the speciation and subsequent evolution of new species. So, the importance of random accumulation of small genetic changes sufficient to explain evolution was given by Mayr and not by Haeckel, Darwin and Lamarck. Thus, option B is correct and other options are wrong.