After Studying Medium Ground Finch Families from Year to Year

question 13

Multiple Choice

After studying medium ground finch families from year to year, the Grants determined that beak size (length and depth) was highly heritable. This is primarily due to

• A) the environment.
• B) additive alleles.
• C) epistatic alleles.
• D) dominant alleles.

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Definitions:

Cyclical Movement

Fluctuations in business activity experienced over time, usually tied to economic cycles.

Random Variation

The unpredictable changes in data that do not follow a recognizable pattern, often due to random effects or causes.

Moving Averages

A method used in time series analysis to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight long-term trends by averaging data points over specific periods.

Exponential Smoothing

A method used in time series forecasting that applies decreasing weights to past observations.