Question

all of these are examples of random evolutionary processes except
a. an earthquake divides a single elk species into two populations, forcing them to no longer interbreed.
b. a mutation in a flower plant results in a new variety.
c. an especially long winter causes a group of migrating birds to shift their home range.
d. a mutation results in a population of trees that spread their seeds more widely than their peers, causing their population to grow.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: Earthquake dividing elk populations (geographic isolation) is a random event (genetic drift via founder effect/bottleneck), so it's a random evolutionary process.
• Option B: Mutations are random changes in DNA, so a flower mutation is a random evolutionary process.
• Option C: A long winter shifting bird ranges is a random environmental event (affecting gene flow/drift), so it's random.
• Option D: The mutation here gives a beneficial trait (wider seed spread, leading to population growth) that is favored by natural selection. Natural selection is a non - random process (it selects for traits that increase fitness), unlike the random processes (drift, mutation, random environmental events) in A - C.

Answer:

D. a mutation results in a population of trees that spread their seeds more widely than their peers, causing their population to grow.