Question

scientists interested in the relationship among vision, foraging for food, and fitness studied three isolated populations of a small species of primate whose diet includes small insects and fruit, both of which the animals primarily identify by sight. the three populations were once part of a larger population that was fragmented as a result of habitat destruction by humans. the study populations were selected on the basis of the significantly different vegetation among their current habitats. the scientists analyzed the frequency in each population of each of three alleles of a gene encoding an opsin protein. opsin proteins are important for color vision, and each allele provides maximum sensitivity to a specific wavelength of visible light and thus to certain colors. analysis of the alleles present in each population was performed in two different ways, and the data were combined to calculate the frequencies (table 1).
table 1. frequency of opsin alleles in three populations of a small primate

	frequency (±2seₓ)
	population 1	population 2	population 3
allele 1	0.60 (.05)	0.80 (.06)	0.25 (.02)
allele 2	0.15 (.02)	0.05 (.01)	0.45 (.03)
allele 3	0.25 (.02)	0.15 (.02)	0.30 (.02)

(a) describe one measure of evolutionary fitness.
note on your ap exam, you will handwrite your responses to free - response questions in a test booklet

Explanation:

One measure of evolutionary fitness is reproductive success. It is often defined as the number of viable offspring an individual produces in its lifetime. Organisms with higher reproductive success are more likely to pass on their genes to the next - generation, which is a key aspect of evolution.

Answer:

Reproductive success, which is the number of viable offspring an individual produces in its lifetime.