Males and females of an African swallowtail butterfly look differently from each other. Males look like typical black and yellow swallowtails and are readily preyed upon by birds. Females however, show various patterns of black, white and orange, and the color patterns in a particular population are copies of sympathetic species that taste very bad and is rarely preyed upon by birds. Is natural selection or genetic drift responsible for the fact that male and female butterflies don't resemble each other and support your answer with detailed reasoning. If it si natural selection, what mode is occuring, if it is genetic drift, what event is leading to genetic drift?
2007-02-01 11:22:07 · 3 answers · asked by hockeyislife21 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Think about the rarity of males needed to breed, then think about their phenotype. Then know that the African butterfly was created from two different species; a event that biologists had thought impossible. Now, you work on this question a bit by yourself and resubmit if you get frustrated.
2007-02-01 12:18:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not a biologist but would have to guess it is natural selection. I am thinking the male gene is more prominent than the female. This would force the dna it change over time to give the species a chance to survive. That is the best I could come up with.
2007-02-01 19:30:42 · answer #2 · answered by heavyhauldad 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
natural selection, and it is due to disruptive selection.
2007-02-01 20:19:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋