[Campbell Biology P.315] What is the evolutionary significance of the genetic variation prod... | Practice Question

What is the evolutionary significance of the genetic variation produced by sexual reproduction?

  • A: It ensures that all offspring are perfectly adapted to the environment.
  • B: It allows populations to survive environmental changes by ensuring some individuals have advantageous traits.
  • C: It makes sexual reproduction less energetically expensive than asexual reproduction.
  • D: It prevents mutations from being the source of different alleles.

Explanation

The text explains that natural selection acts on variant members of a population. When the environment changes, the genetic diversity within the population increases the chance that some individuals will have combinations of alleles suitable for the new conditions, allowing the population to survive.