Using what you know about the different types of Selection, describe what you might expect of this population in terms of fur thickness over the next 1000 years if the climate stays the same as it has been up until now? (b) Then describe what population changes you might foresee with climate change if the CT region becomes warmer and winters are milder in general? (c) Finally, what might happen to the furriness trait in this population if (as is most likely) this region has milder winters in general, but every once in a while we get a nasty, cold and snowy winter that lasts from September through May?
Applied Natural Selection: You are studying a population of a newly-discovered species of mammal called grendels. They live here in the woods of CT, and the population has a wide range of thicknesses to their fur coats.
Most have a moderately thick coat year-round, including “Bob” and “Dave” and “Smurfette” and “Cindy,” four individuals that you are tracking. But a few such as “Stan” have noticeably thinner coats, and there is even one that you call “Biff” that looks almost naked and has very little body hair at all (a metrosexual grendel, if you will).
On the other hand, there are also a few with thicker-than-average coats such as “Penny” and “Silvia,” and one that you have nicknamed “Cousin It” because you can’t even see his eyes through all his lustrous hair.
(a) Using what you know about the different types of Selection, describe what you might expect of this population in terms of fur thickness over the next 1000 years if the climate stays the same as it has been up until now?
(b) Then describe what population changes you might foresee with climate change if the CT region becomes warmer and winters are milder in general?
(c) Finally, what might happen to the furriness trait in this population if (as is most likely) this region has milder winters in general, but every once in a while we get a nasty, cold and snowy winter that lasts from September through May?
**Drawing some selection type diagrams is a good idea when answering this question. And be logical - don’t try to shoehorn them all in simply because there are 3 types of selection patterns and there happen to be 3 parts to this question.
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
