Question

A population of lizards lives in a marsh near the ocean. Members of this population have striped tails that can be yellow, orange, or red. Most members of the population have yellow striped tails. During a storm, four lizards get swept into the ocean on driftwood and end up on an island several miles away. All four of the lizards have orange striped tails. These lizards start a new population on the island, and all members of the new population have orange striped tails. In the example above, the new lizard population had less genetic variation than the original population because of _______.

Answer 1

The question is incomplete as it does not have the options which are:

A. Speciation

B. the founder effect

C. natural selection

D. gene flow

Answer:

Founder effect

Explanation:

The founder effect is the phenomenon observed when the members of the population establish a new population.

This effect is observed due to the immigration and emigration of the individuals of the population.

In the given question, the four lizards swept away with the ocean and reached a new island. There they reproduced and flourished and by the time they formed the new population with orange stripes. This is the case of the genetic drift especially the founder effect in which the new alleles for the orange tail expressed.

Thus, the founder effect is the correct answer.