Answer Key

Biology 11: Types of Natural Selection

Vocabulary Review: Define the following terms:
1. Stabilizing Selection: Natural selection that favors the intermeiate phenotype. !Average
iniviuals of the population are favore."
#. $irectional Selection: Natural selection that favors one of the e%treme variations of a trait.
This selection results in a shift to one e%treme.
&. $isruptive Selection: Natural selection that favors both e%tremes of the phenotype. The
intermeiate phenotype is eliminate. This type of selection results in favoring both of the
e%treme of a variation.
Multiple Choice: Circle the correct answer for each of the questions below.
'. (n which of the following is variation reuce in the population:
a. Stabilizing Selection
b. $isruptive Selection
c. $irectional Selection
. None of the above.
). (n which of the following are iniviuals of intermeiate phenotypes are lost from the
population*
a. Stabilizing Selection
b. $isruptive Selection
c. $irectional Selection
. None of the above
Question 7 to !: "hich type of selection #oes each of the following scenarios #escribe$ "hy$
+. ,or birs an parasitois- females that lay close to the .ac/ optimum number of eggs have the
most surviving offspring. Those that lay fewer or more eggs have lower relative fitness.
Stabilizing 0 the intermeiate phenotype is favore
1. A population of 2aagascar hissing coc/roaches lives in a woopile. (t suffers heavy
preation from lizars. Because their heas are small- the lizars are unable to eat the very
largest ault coc/roaches- an instea prey upon small an meium size aults. 3hat type of
selection o the lizars impose on the roaches* 3hy o you thin/ that*
$irectional 0 one of the e%treme is favore !largest coc/roaches escape preation"
4. (f a cow evelops a preference for eating white four o5cloc/ flowers an ignoring pin/ an
re four o5cloc/ flowers- what type of selection is being emonstrate*
$irectional 6 7ne e%treme is favore- the other is selecte against 0 white eaten- re are not.
18. Starlings prouce an average of five eggs in each clutch. (f there are more than five- the parents
cannot ae9uately fee the young. (f there are fewer than five- preators may estroy the entire clutch.
Stabilizing 0 intermeiate clutch size is favore.
. %abel the three types of selection illustrate# below
a. $isruptive b. $irectional c. Stabilizing
1#. $escribe what is happening in figures 16&. (s the population of mice ifferent in figure &
than in figure 1* :%plain why. 3hich mice in this population have the highest
fitness* 3hat type of selection is occurring* ;se a graph to illustrate your
answer.
The bird is preying on mice. The mice
that are well camouflaged (dark) are
able to escape predation. Since they
are better adapted to their
environment, they are said to be more
fit, and thus increase in frequency.
However the white mice are not as
well adapted and are therefore being
preyed upon and decreasing in frequency. The type of selection is irectional,
for one of the e!tremes is being favored (dark mice) and one is being selected
against (white mice)
See directional selection graph above.