Question

Paleontologists recently obtained DNA samples from two different groups of woolly mammoths (PLoS Genetics 13: e1006601). The first set of DNA samples was from woolly mammoths which lived 45,000 years ago, when large populations of these animals were common in North America and northern Asia. The second set of DNA samples was from woolly mammoths which lived 4,000 years ago, when the global woolly mammoth population had been reduced to 300 individuals on a single island in the Arctic Ocean. Which of the following would a biologist predict regarding the woolly mammoths and their DNA? CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

	A.	There is likely to be no difference between the two sets of DNA samples.
	B.	There are probably still woolly mammoths living on the island today.
	C.	The DNA samples from 45,000 years ago are likely to have greater genetic diversity than the DNA samples from 4,000 years ago.
	D.	The DNA samples from 4,000 years ago are likely to have greater genetic diversity than the DNA samples from 45,000 years ago.
	E.	Woolly mammoths are likely to have gone completely extinct slightly less than 4,000 years ago.
	F.	The DNA samples from 45,000 years ago are likely to have a higher rate of harmful mutations than the DNA samples from 4,000 years ago.
	G.	Woolly mammoths are likely to have gone completely extinct slightly less than 45,000 years ago.
	H.	The DNA samples from 4,000 years ago are likely to have a higher rate of harmful mutations than the DNA samples from 45,000 years ago.