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PCAT Biological Processes – Finches

  • by Sam
  • Jan 03, 2018
  • PCAT Question of the Day

On a particular chain of islands, 14 species of finches arose from a common ancestor. This is an example of:

A) evolutionary bottleneck

B) genetic drift

C) commensalism

D) adaptive radiation

Click for Explanation

Separate species arising from a single ancestor refers to adaptive radiation.

 

A) evolutionary bottleneck, incorrect, An evolutionary bottleneck refers to a severe population crisis that causes a shift in allelic frequencies in survivors.

B) genetic drift, incorrect, Genetic drift refers to loss of an allele in small populations due to all members with the allele dying.

C) commensalism, incorrect, Commensalism refers to a relationship between species in which only one species benefits from the relationship while the other is unaffected.

D) adaptive radiation, correct.

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