Question

match each example to one of the processes below. an area consists of dark and light rocks. mouse populations that live on the dark rocks tend to be darkly colored; mouse populations that live on the light rocks tend to be lightly colored. a large boulder rolls down a mountain and kills all the flowers in its path. a tourist carries seeds to a new location. these seeds are able to breed with plants of the same species in this new location. overfishing results in an endangered fish population with a very small population size. algae attach to a boat motor and are transported to a new lake where they establish a new colony. options for first example: founder effect, gene flow, genetic bottleneck, genetic drift, natural selection

Explanation:

First Example (Mouse Populations):

Natural selection occurs when organisms with traits (like color matching rocks) that help survival/reproduction are more likely to pass on genes. Mice with color matching their rock environment are favored, so this is natural selection.

Genetic drift is random change in allele frequencies. The boulder randomly kills flowers, reducing population and causing random genetic changes, so this is genetic drift.

Gene flow is transfer of genetic material between populations. The tourist moves seeds (genetic material) to a new location where they breed with local plants, so this is gene flow.

Answer:

natural selection

Second Example (Boulder Kills Flowers):