Question

page 19 of 50
question 19 (mandatory) (2 points)
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babies that are at a low birth weight are more likely to have health problems, while women will have difficulty delivering babies with high birth weight. together, this leads to ________ for babies of average birth weight.
stabilizing selection
sexual selection
disruptive selection
directional selection
artificial selection

Explanation:

Stabilizing selection favors intermediate (average) traits by selecting against extreme phenotypes. Here, low and high birth weights (extremes) are disadvantageous, so average birth weight is favored, which matches this selection type. Sexual selection focuses on traits for mating success; disruptive selection favors both extremes; directional selection shifts toward one extreme; artificial selection is human-driven.

Answer:

A. stabilizing selection