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In eastern gray squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, the allele for black fur (B) is dominant to the allele for gray fur (b). In a particular population of gray squirrels, 64% have black fur and 36% have gray fur. A researcher calculated the allelic frequencies to be B=0.4 and b=0.6. Five years later, the researcher returned to the location and determined the allelic frequencies within the squirrel population to be B=0.6 and b=0.4

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Answer:

The correct answer is "The frequency of the B allele increased due to the selective pressures of the environment".

Explanation:

The missing part of the question is "Which of the following could best explain the increase in the frequency of the B allele in the population after five years?" at which the answer is "The frequency of the B allele increased due to the selective pressures of the environment".

In this study, the allelic frequency for black fur (B) in eastern gray squirrels Sciurus carolinensis changed from B=0.4 to B=0.6 within a lapse of five years. This increase is explained by the effect of selective pressures of the environment. For instance, is likely that new predators were more likely to detect squirrels with gray fur over black fur, or changes in the landscape benefited the black fur squirrels camouflage.

Allele frequency in a population is calculated by the division of the number of times an allele is observed by the total number of copies of all the alleles in a population.

The frequency of allele B increased due to selective pressures of the environment.

The allelic frequencies are used to calculate the number of times an allele in a population is observed. The allelic frequencies help to understand the gene flow in a population.

In the given research, the allelic frequency for Black fur is (B) changed from B = 0.4 to B = 0.6 within 5 years. The change in the allelic frequency can be due to selective pressure, such as producing offspring more than the environment can hold.

Thus, the new predator targeted the squirrels with gray fur and led to increasing the squirrels having black fur.

Thus, the allelic frequencies increased due to selective pressures in the environment.

To know more about allelic frequencies, refer to the following link:

https://brainly.com/question/14104802