The gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a species common ineastern North America. Most individual squirrels of the species areindeed gray, but in northern populations there are a number ofsquirrels that are all black. When the pioneers settled northernWisconsin, a large proportion of the species population were black.By the early 1900s, due to hunting, the gray squirrel populationwas very low and black gray squirrels were extremely rare, probablyunder 1% of the population. Hunting regulations were passed thatlimited the shooting of gray squirrels. The gray squirrelpopulation recovered and the percentage of black gray squirrels hasagain increased in northern populations. (About 30% black in mynorthern Wisconsin squirrel research.)
Briefly try to explain this increase in percentage of black graysquirrels in terms of natural selection. Include in your answerthese components of natural selection - overproduction, variation,competition & survival, differential reproduction.
The gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a species common ineastern North America. Most individual squirrels of the species areindeed gray, but in northern populations there are a number ofsquirrels that are all black. When the pioneers settled northernWisconsin, a large proportion of the species population were black.By the early 1900s, due to hunting, the gray squirrel populationwas very low and black gray squirrels were extremely rare, probablyunder 1% of the population. Hunting regulations were passed thatlimited the shooting of gray squirrels. The gray squirrelpopulation recovered and the percentage of black gray squirrels hasagain increased in northern populations. (About 30% black in mynorthern Wisconsin squirrel research.)
Briefly try to explain this increase in percentage of black graysquirrels in terms of natural selection. Include in your answerthese components of natural selection - overproduction, variation,competition & survival, differential reproduction.
