A particular species of animals had three coat colors: White, yellow and black. A population of this species in Africa has more number of yellow animals and less number of white and black animals. After hundreds of years, the species evolved having very few yellow animals. The white and black animals were almost similar in quantity. The type of natural selection seen in this example is

Options

A. Stabilising selection
B. Directional selection
C. Disruptive selection
D. It could be both stabilising and disruptive selection

Answer

To solve the question, we need to analyze the scenario presented regarding the coat colors of the animal species and the changes in their population over time. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the solution:

### Step 1: Understand the Initial Population
The question states that the initial population of the species had three coat colors: white, yellow, and black. Among these, yellow animals were the most numerous, while white and black animals were less common.

**Hint:** Identify the initial distribution of traits in the population.

### Step 2: Observe Changes Over Time
After hundreds of years, the population evolved to have very few yellow animals, while the white and black animals were almost equal in number. This indicates a significant change in the population dynamics.

**Hint:** Consider how the population proportions have shifted over time.

### Step 3: Identify the Type of Natural Selection
The change in the population where the yellow animals decreased significantly while the white and black animals became more similar in quantity suggests that the environment favored the extremes (white and black) over the intermediate (yellow). This scenario is characteristic of disruptive selection, where both extremes are favored, and the intermediate phenotype is selected against.

**Hint:** Think about how different traits are favored or disfavored in the population.

### Step 4: Conclude the Type of Natural Selection
Given the information, we conclude that the type of natural selection observed in this scenario is **disruptive selection**. This is because the population has evolved to favor the extreme coat colors (white and black) while the intermediate color (yellow) has diminished.

**Hint:** Recall the definitions of stabilizing, directional, and disruptive selection to differentiate between them.

### Final Answer
The type of natural selection seen in this example is **disruptive selection**.