I can help you understand the concept of natural selection and its application to the high incidence of tusklessness among female elephants in Gorongosa.
1. Claim:
- The high incidence of tusklessness among female elephants in Gorongosa is a result of natural selection.
2. Supporting Evidence:
- Variation: Some female elephants in the population have a genetic trait for tusklessness.
- Inheritance: The trait of tusklessness is partially inherited, meaning it can be passed from parents to offspring.
- Description: The genetic variation for tusklessness may have originated due to random mutations in the past and is perpetuated through inheritance.
3. Scientific Reasoning:
- In Gorongosa, female elephants with tusks are often targeted by poachers for their ivory, leading to a higher survival rate for tuskless females.
- Over time, the selective pressure exerted by poaching has favored tuskless females, as they are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the tuskless trait to their offspring.
- This process of natural selection results in an increase in the frequency of tusklessness among female elephants in the population.
By understanding how natural selection works in the context of the high incidence of tusklessness among female elephants in Gorongosa, we can see how environmental pressures and genetic variation interact to shape the traits of a population over time.
