Question

use the figure above to answer the following question.
in the initial fruit fly population at the top of the figure, it is safe to assume that

the population is mating with individuals of other species
natural selection is not operating on the population
any male in the population could successfully mate with any female
no mutations are occurring in the population
there is already significant genetic divergence taking place

Explanation:

• Option 1: In the initial population (single population), they are of the same species, so they don't mate with other species.
• Option 2: Natural selection is always a factor in populations (even if not the focus of this speciation - by - isolation example, we can't assume it's not operating).
• Option 3: In a single population (before speciation), by the biological species concept (a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring), any male could mate with any female.
• Option 4: Mutations are random and constantly occur in populations.
• Option 5: Genetic divergence (significant) occurs later (steps 2 - 4 in the figure, due to geographical isolation and long - term separation).

Answer:

any male in the population could successfully mate with any female