Take, for example, a population of black furred and
white furred rabbits living on a white iceberg. The rabbits are of
the same species and able to mate. A pack of wolves found the
population and quickly eliminated the black rabbits from the
population, leaving only white rabbits. If all the
black furred rabbits were eliminated, explain why black furred
rabbits could show up again?
7. Identify the type of selection being described in the
following scenarios.
a. In the arctic larger polar bears where able to hunt
larger animals and thus be able to eat more which helped them
survive. Eventually the average size of polar bears increased
in the population. This is an example of what type of natural
selection? _________________________
b. When a particular species of fox was evolving, the
foxes with the longer legs and larger bodies were able to run fast
and jump over obstacles, and the foxes with shorter legs and
smaller bodies were able to evade predators by hiding in burrows
and rock crevices, the foxes with large bodies and short legs were
not able to hide very well nor run very fast. The foxes with
the longer legs and large bodies, and the foxes with the shorter
legs and smaller bodies were both, on average, able to live longer
than the short legged, large bodied foxes. What type of
natural selection is happening in this group?
_________________________
c. Peacocks use large, elaborate and colourful feathers to
attract a mate. Generally speaking, the larger, more
colourful and elaborate the display the better. But as the
display gets larger and more elaborate it makes it more difficult
for the bird to evade predators, the colourful display also
attracts predators very easily. Peacocks with smaller, less
elaborate displays are ignored by the peahens and do not
mate. What type of natural selection is working on the
peacock population?
_________________________