In 1983 a population of dark-eyed junco birds became established on the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), which is located many miles from the junco's normal habitat in the mixed-coniferous temperate forests in the mountains. Juncos have white outer tail feathers that the males display during aggressive interactions and during courtship displays. Males with more white in their tail are more likely to win aggressive interactions, and females prefer to mate with males with more white in their tails. Females have less white in their tails than do males, and display it less often. (Pamela J. Yeh. 2004. Rapid evolution of a sexually selected trait following population establishment in a novel habitat. Evolution 58[1]:166-74.)The UCSD campus male junco population tails were, on average, 36% white, whereas the tails of males from nearby mountain populations averaged 40-45% white. If this observed trait difference were due to a difference in the original colonizing population, it would most likely be due to _____.

Respuesta :

If this observed trait difference were due to a difference in the original colonizing population, it would most likely be due to a founder effect.

Explanation:

According to population genetics, the founder effect can be explained based on the occurrence of loss/reduction of genetic variation when a new population is established by less number of beings from larger population.

The founder effect explains that the difference in trait is due to the difference in original colonizing population. The founder effect is the major cause of genetic drift which may lead to evolutionary divergence from the ancestral population.