10. The Florida panther is a type of mountain lion. About

a hundred years ago, Florida panthers scattered and

mated with other subspecies of mountain lions in nearby

populations.

a. Explain how the gene flow in this population would be

affected by the introduction of the Florida Panthers.

b. Would genetic variation increase or decrease in the

mountain lion population?

a) Gene flow in a genetic population is defined as the transfer of genetic variation from one population to another.

Gene flow is considered as one of the impotant mechanism of genetic diversity in a population. Migrant affects the genetic diverisity in a population by modifying the allele frequencies.

When florida Panthers introduced with subspecies of mountain lions it increases the genetic flow in the population of mountain lion as the florida panther were carrying a particular variant of a gene.

B) Due to high genetic flow the genetic vriation in the population will decrease between the two groups and results in increasing homogeneity. High rate of gene flow lead to a combination of the two gene pools that reduces the genetic variation. Hence, genetic variation will decrease in the mountain lion population.

a) Inbreeding

b) Decreased

Explanation:

Florida panther is considered an endangered species that is found in very few numbers in the environment.

In the given question,

a) The Florida panther scattered in the mountains which could affect the flow of the genes (migration). When it mated with the other sub-species, it could have led to the inbreeding.

b) Since the lion scattered in the mountains, the gene flow could have occurred and this could have decreased the genetic variation in the population of the Panthers.