Use the Following Description to Answer the Question(s) Below

question 30

Multiple Choice

Use the following description to answer the question(s) below.
The Isthmus of Panama (a narrow strip of land connecting North and South America) started rising about 10 million years ago. The Pacific and Caribbean oceans were completely separated by the isthmus about 3 million years ago.
Researchers have examined species of snapping shrimp on both sides of the isthmus. Based on the morphological species concept, there appear to be seven pairs of species, with one species of each pair in the Pacific and the other in the Caribbean. The different species pairs live at somewhat different depths in the ocean. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the researchers estimated phylogenies and found that each of these species pairs, separated by the isthmus, were indeed each other's closest relatives. The researchers investigated mating in the lab and found that many species pairs seldom courted each other, and those that did mate seldom produced fertile offspring. (N. Knowlton, L. A. Weigt, L. A. Solorzano, D. K. Mills, and E. Bermingham. 1993. Divergence in proteins, mitochondrial DNA, and reproductive incompatibility across the Isthmus of Panama. Science 260:1629-32.)
-If the isthmus formed gradually rather than suddenly, what pattern of genetic divergence would you expect to find in these species pairs?

• A) similar percentages of difference in DNA sequence between all pairs of sister species
• B) greater percentage of difference in DNA sequence between species that inhabit deep water than between species that inhabit shallow water
• C) greater percentage of difference in DNA sequence between species that inhabit shallow water than between species that inhabit deep water

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Definitions:

Geometric Average Returns

A method of calculating the average rate of return of a set of values that accounts for the effects of compounding, useful for assessing the performance of investments over time.

Returns

The profits or losses generated by an investment over a specific period, often expressed as a percentage of the initial investment cost.

Years

Units of time representing a period of twelve months or 365 days, used as a measure of time passing.

Standard Deviation

A statistic that measures the dispersion or variability of a distribution, indicating how much individual values deviate from the mean.