Pikas are small mammals that live at high elevations on the talus slopesof mountains. Most populations located on mountaintops in Coloradoand Montana in North America are isolated from one another: the pikasdon’t occupy the low-elevation habitats that separate the mountaintopsand don’t venture far from the talus slopes. Thus, there is little gene flowbetween populations. Furthermore, each population is small in size andwas founded by a small number of pikas.A group of population geneticists proposes to study the amount ofgenetic variation in a series of pika populations and to compare theallelic frequencies in different populations. On the basis of the biologyand distribution of pikas, predict what the population geneticists willfind concerning the within- and between-population genetic variation.

Pikas are small mammals that live at high elevations on the talus slopesof mountains. Most populations located on mountaintops in Coloradoand Montana in North America are isolated from one another: the pikasdon’t occupy the low-elevation habitats that separate the mountaintopsand don’t venture far from the talus slopes. Thus, there is little gene flowbetween populations. Furthermore, each population is small in size andwas founded by a small number of pikas.A group of population geneticists proposes to study the amount ofgenetic variation in a series of pika populations and to compare theallelic frequencies in different populations. On the basis of the biologyand distribution of pikas, predict what the population geneticists willfind concerning the within- and between-population genetic variation.

BIOLOGY:CONCEPTS+APPL.(LOOSELEAF)

10th Edition

ISBN:9781305967359

Author:STARR

Publisher:STARR

Chapter40: Population Ecology

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 2CT

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