6. Owls are nocturnal hunters and depend on their acute vision for survival. If an owl with cataracts is determined to be inherited and she is released back into her natural habitat, she could pass the allele for cataracts on to her offspring.
What process would most likely act against any offspring with an allele for cataracts?
A. immigration
B. genetic drift
C. natural selection
D. adaptive radiation
The process that would most likely act against any offspring with an allele for cataracts is C. natural selection.
To understand why natural selection is the correct answer, we need to briefly go over the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution that occurs when certain traits or alleles make individuals more likely to survive and reproduce in their environment. These advantageous traits or alleles are then passed on to future generations at a higher frequency.
In this case, the owl with cataracts has a detrimental allele that affects her vision. Because owls rely heavily on their acute vision for survival, it is likely that offspring with the cataract allele would have reduced hunting abilities and therefore a decreased chance of survival. As a result, these offspring would be less likely to reproduce and pass on the cataract allele to future generations.
Over time, through the process of natural selection, the frequency of the cataract allele would decrease in the owl population as individuals without the allele would have a higher chance of survival and reproduction. This process acts as a mechanism to remove deleterious alleles from the population, ensuring that the population remains adapted to its environment.
Therefore, in this scenario, natural selection is the process that would most likely act against any offspring with an allele for cataracts.