Question

1. a biologist studies a population of wildflowers growing on a mountainside. after a severe avalanche sweeps through the area, nearly all the wildflowers are destroyed except for a few that were protected by a rock outcrop. the new population of wildflowers on the mountainside now descends entirely from this small surviving group. what phenomenon does this scenario best illustrate? genetic diversity bottleneck effect founder effect survival of the fittest

Explanation:

The bottleneck effect occurs when a population is drastically reduced in size, and the remaining population's genetic makeup is different from the original due to chance. In this scenario, a severe avalanche destroys most of the wild - flower population, leaving only a small surviving group. The new population descends entirely from this small group, which is characteristic of the bottleneck effect. The founder effect is when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. Genetic diversity refers to the variety of genes in a population. Survival of the fittest is related to natural selection where the most well - adapted individuals survive.

Answer:

C. Bottleneck effect