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A small number of finches are removed randomly from the wild and placed in a protected bird area. They are given as much food as they need and have plenty of space. Why would natural selection not occur in this population?

Answer 1

There is no competition for resources.

The "natural selection" of expressed biological changes is driven by competition for resources (food, shelter, safety). Without that competition, changes still happen, but none are "selected" over others for propagation.

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Answer 2

Luna Cruz

Without competition for resources or predation pressure, there is no mechanism for differential survival and reproduction based on heritable traits, which is necessary for natural selection to occur. Without these selective forces, natural selection would not occur in this population because the individuals are not subjected to environmental pressures or forces that would favor certain traits over others.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.