Question 5 (1 point) Which of the following is NOT something that would result in balancing selection? When selection favours individuals with traits of one phenotypic extreme When heterozygotes have higher relative fitness When the rarity of a phenotype provides a selective advantage. When different alleles are favoured in different environments

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Question 5 (1 point) Which of the following is NOT something that would result in balancing selection? When selection favours individuals with traits of one phenotypic extreme When heterozygotes have higher relative fitness When the rarity of a phenotype provides a selective advantage. When different alleles are favoured in different environments

Answer 1

The answer is **When selection favours individuals with traits of one phenotypic extreme**.Here's why:* **Balancing selection** maintains genetic diversity in a population by favoring multiple alleles. It *prevents* one allele from becoming fixed.* **Directional selection**, on the other hand, favors individuals at one phenotypic extreme, pushing the population's genetic makeup towards that extreme. This *reduces* genetic diversity. This is the opposite of balancing selection.The other options are all examples of balancing selection:* **Heterozygote advantage:** When heterozygotes have higher fitness, both alleles are maintained in the population because you need both to create heterozygotes. (e.g., sickle cell trait)* **Frequency-dependent selection:** When a rare phenotype has an advantage, it becomes more common until it's no longer rare and loses its advantage. This can lead to a fluctuation where different phenotypes become advantageous at different times. (e.g., predator-prey relationships where predators develop a "search image" for common prey)* **Environmental heterogeneity:** Different environments can favor different alleles. If a population spans multiple environments, multiple alleles will be maintained.

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