Variation in Populations
- Variation within populations is called intraspecific variation
- Familiar examples of intraspecific variation might include
- Breeds of dogs
- Race in humans
- Varieties of plants
- It occurs due to different alleles found in the population
- These alleles originated from mutations of an ancestral gene
- Variation in a population is responsible for the differences in characteristics but also may determine how likely an individual is to survive
- Periodically, a new mutation will occur and introduce a new allele into the population
- Whether this allele is successful or whether it is quickly lost again from the population depends on whether it provides any kind of advantage or disadvantage to individuals that possess it