11. Two hypothetical populations of rabbits live on a mountain,one at low elevation and the other at high elevation. Rabbits atthe low elevation experience a mild climate and have short fur,whereas rabbits at the high elevation are exposed to coldconditions and have long fur. There are no geographic barriersseparating the ranges of two populations.
An ecologist finds that in both the low and high elevationpopulations, there are a few rabbits that have intermediate furlength. She notes that the rabbits with intermediate fur length cansuccessfully mate and produce offspring with rabbits that haveshort or long fur.
What is the most likely explanation for why some rabbits haveintermediate fur length?
A) The rabbits with intermediate fur length are a seperatespecies.
B) The population at low elevation is experiencing geneticdrift.
C) The rabbits with intermediate fur length live in a differentarea and are migrating through the two populations.
D) There is a gene flow between the low and high elevationpopulations.
