A mile-wide river separates two rabbit populations for a million years. Over time, one population evolves long ears and is more active near dark, when they can hear predators coming but the predators can't easily see their ears sticking up above the grass. The other rabbit population evolves short ears and is more active in the middle of the day; it is harder to see, but also doesn't hear predators approaching as well. Eventually the river dries up, and the rabbits start encountering each other again. What do you predict will initially happen when the populations first start to meet? O rabbits will avoid hybridizing, since it is usually a mistake rabbits will interbreed and have offspring with intermediate ears that are visible during the day and not as good at hearing predators at night rabbits will know not to mate with any that don't have their same "ear size" O rabbits will already show complete reproductive isolation after one million years and will ignore each other, having become different species

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Chapter16: Population Ecology
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A mile-wide river separates two rabbit populations for a million years. Over time, one
population evolves long ears and is more active near dark, when they can hear predators
coming but the predators can't easily see their ears sticking up above the grass. The other
rabbit population evolves short ears and is more active in the middle of the day; it is harder to
see, but also doesn't hear predators approaching as well. Eventually the river dries up, and the
rabbits start encountering each other again.
What do you predict will initially happen when the populations first start to meet?
O rabbits will avoid hybridizing, since it is usually a mistake
rabbits will interbreed and have offspring with intermediate ears that are visible during the day and not
as good at hearing predators at night
O rabbits will know not to mate with any that don't have their same "ear size"
O rabbits will already show complete reproductive isolation after one million years and will ignore each
other, having become different species
Transcribed Image Text:A mile-wide river separates two rabbit populations for a million years. Over time, one population evolves long ears and is more active near dark, when they can hear predators coming but the predators can't easily see their ears sticking up above the grass. The other rabbit population evolves short ears and is more active in the middle of the day; it is harder to see, but also doesn't hear predators approaching as well. Eventually the river dries up, and the rabbits start encountering each other again. What do you predict will initially happen when the populations first start to meet? O rabbits will avoid hybridizing, since it is usually a mistake rabbits will interbreed and have offspring with intermediate ears that are visible during the day and not as good at hearing predators at night O rabbits will know not to mate with any that don't have their same "ear size" O rabbits will already show complete reproductive isolation after one million years and will ignore each other, having become different species
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