Exam 16: How Populations Evolve

The northern elephant seal was hunted almost to extinction during the 18^th and 19^th centuries.Less than 100 seals were left to contribute to the gene pool of their future generations.Since the early 20^th century,the elephant seals have been protected by law in both the U.S.and Mexico.Over 100,000 seals now inhabit the western shores of North America,all related to the small population that survived the slaughter of hunters. Scientists fear the elephant seals may be more susceptible to disease and pollution due to a ______.

If the mutation rate of individual genes is taken to be about one in 100,000 genes per cell cycle across many organisms,we might expect evolution to proceed at a consistent rate for various forms of life.Which factor could make the accumulation of gene mutations faster or slower among different organisms?

If early Viking explorers in Greenland and North America had survived and become the main ancestors of early North American settlers,rather than the mixture of immigrants from across Europe and other continents,today there would be a much higher incidence of Nordic traits in the U.S.population.Such a scenario would demonstrate

Social research indicates that a person is most likely to marry someone from the same village or city,or a high school or college classmate.Therefore,the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium does not apply well to human populations because

The most common source of genetic variation in sexually reproducing organisms is