Question

Why will ALL-natural populations evolve, based on assumptions made under the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) Principle?

A) All-natural populations evolve because the HW Principle assumes constant allele frequencies over generations.

B) All-natural populations evolve because the HW Principle assumes that mutation rates are high.

C) All-natural populations evolve because the HW Principle assumes that populations are subject to genetic drift.

D) All-natural populations evolve because the HW Principle assumes that none of the five conditions (random mating, large population, no mutation, no migration, no natural selection) are perfectly met in real populations.

Answer 1

All natural populations evolve because in reality, none of the five conditions required by the Hardy-Weinberg Principle for a population to remain in equilibrium - namely random mating, infinite population size, no mutations, no migration, and no natural selection - are perfectly met in nature. This leads to changes in allele frequencies over time due to factors like genetic drift, mutation, migration, and natural selection.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reason all-natural populations evolve is based on the assumptions made under the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) Principle. The principle requires several conditions to be met for a population to be in equilibrium and not evolving. These conditions include random mating, infinite population size, no mutations, no migration (gene flow), and no natural selection. However, in reality, these conditions are never perfectly met by any natural population. Factors such as genetic drift, mutation, migration, and natural selection are always at play, causing changes in allele frequencies and thus, evolution.

The correct final answer to the question of why all natural populations evolve is option D: All-natural populations evolve because the HW Principle assumes that none of the five conditions are perfectly met in real populations.