Question

within these populations of rock pocket mice, two forms (or alleles) of the mc1r gene were found. allele 1 differs from allele 2 (a2) by four amino acids. figure 3 shows the relationship between reflectance and mc1r genotype (hoekstra, drumm, & nachman, 2004.)

figure 3. the relationship of genotype of rock pocket mice for the mc1r gene (a1a1, a1a2, or a2a2) and fur color. a higher value for reflectance means lighter fur. (adapted from hoekstra, drumm, & nachman, 2004.)

Explanation:

The problem involves the study of rock pocket mice, their MC1R gene alleles, and the relationship between genotype and fur reflectance (which relates to fur color). This falls under Biology (a subfield of Natural Science) as it deals with genetic variation and phenotypic expression in organisms.

Answer:

Biology (Natural Science subfield)