Question

Loss of habitat has decreased the population and number of alleles of Canadian lynx. A few survivors migrated to other forests and multiplied, but there is less genetic variation in the offspring. Which statement is true about this event?

Answer 1

Reproductive isolation prevents variations from spreading throughout the entire population. Since genetic variations basically occur randomly, the chances that the same variations will occur in both reproductively separated subpopulations are vanishingly slim. Thus, genetic divergence between both subpopulations will occur, and this may eventually lead to speciation. Isolation stops populations of the same species from interbreeding. This results in separate breeding among populations and genetic differences become more pronounced with each generation.