Inbreeding Depression Is a Serious Concern in Small Populations of Endangered

Multiple Choice

Inbreeding depression is a serious concern in small populations of endangered organisms. Why is inbreeding depression a concern for such populations?

A) Related individuals are more likely to mate with one another and this increases the probability that two deleterious alleles will be present in the offspring.
B) Related individuals are more likely to mate with one another and this will increase the frequency of homozygous genotypes.
C) Related individuals will not mate with one another, therefore population number will decline.
D) Related individuals will not mate with one another, and this increases the probability that two deleterious alleles will be present when unrelated individuals mate.