Question

Most Swiss starlings produce four to five eggs in each clutch. Those producing fewer or more than this have reduced fitness. Which of the following terms best describes this?
a. directional selectionb. stabilizing selectionc. disruptive selectiond. sexual selectione. artificial selection

Answer 1

Answer:

B) stabilizing selection

Explanation:

Stabilizing selection is a type of natural selection in which the population mean stabilizes on a particular non-extreme trait value.

Stabilizing selection commonly uses negative selection to select against extreme values of the character.

Instead of favoring individuals with extreme phenotypes, it favors the intermediate variants. Stabilizing selection tends to remove the more severe phenotypes, resulting in the reproductive success of the norm or average phenotypes.