There are two species of elephant seals: northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, found off the western coast of North America from Baja California to the Gulf of Alaska, and southern elephant seals, M. leonina, found in the southern oceans. Hunting in the nineteenth century has been blamed for a drastic reduction in the northern elephant seal population. Even though the population has rebounded following restrictions on seal hunting, genetic variation is greatly reduced in the northern species compared to that in the southern species.
Which of the following conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was most likely NOT being met in the northern elephant seal population following overhunting?
