Question

Which of the following would most likely result in microevolution of a population of coyotes?

• A. The coyotes mate only at random with other coyotes in the area where they live.
• B. A neutral mutation occurs in the coyote population.
• C. The coyote population experiences exponential growth.
• D. The coyotes do not have any traits that cause them to be favored in their environment.
• E. The coyotes travel back and forth across a canyon to mate with coyotes of a neighboring population.

Answer 1

The correct option is A The coyotes mate only at random with other coyotes in the area where they live.

Microevolution occurs when there is change in gene frequency of a population. Gene frequency changes when the following conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are not met:

1. The population size is very large.

2. No genes are input from other sources i.e. no gene flow takes place.

3. No mutation takes place.

4. No natural selection occurs.

5. Random mating is occurring.

Among all options, option A is not following the Hardy-Weinberg law because there is no random mating between coyotes. They are mating only with the members of the area where they live.

So, the correct answer is 'The coyotes mate only at random with other coyotes in the area where they live'.