A research team wanted to produce a smaller
variety of German shepherd dogs. They mated
the smallest dogs from different litters for
several generations. This is an example of which
concept?
(1) extinction (3) selective breeding
(2) mutation (4) natural selection
The correct answer is (3) selective breeding.
Selective breeding, also known as artificial selection, is the process of intentionally mating organisms with desirable traits in order to produce offspring with those specific traits. In this scenario, the research team is deliberately mating the smallest German shepherd dogs from different litters over several generations to create a smaller variety of the breed. By consistently selecting and breeding for the desired trait of smaller size, they are using selective breeding.