Biology 9700 · AS & A Level · Natural and artificial selection

Natural and artificial selection — practice question

The monkey flower, Mimulus guttatus, is pollinated by bumblebees rather than by self-pollination. Because bumblebee numbers are declining in many parts of the world, an experiment was done in Kansas to see how these plants are affected when pollinators are lost. - 1600 Mimulus plants were grown in a field. - 1600 Mimulus plants were grown in a glasshouse that bumblebees were unable to enter. For several generations, seeds were collected and sown again and again at both sites. At the start, the glasshouse plants produced few seeds, but after five generations they were able to self-pollinate and the number of seeds produced was almost the same as that of the field plants. By the end of five generations, the flowers of the glasshouse plants were significantly smaller than those of the field plants.
(a)[3]

Explain why the genetic variation in offspring from cross-pollination differs from that in offspring from self-pollination.

(b)[1]

Suggest how smaller flowers could increase the likelihood of self-pollination.

(c)[5]

Explain how natural selection caused the plants in the glasshouse to develop smaller flower sizes over generations.

Worked solution & mark scheme

This 9-mark question has a full step-by-step worked solution and mark scheme. One marking point: Either self-pollination or cross-pollination

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