Why are the small numbers of surviving tigers a cause of worry from the point of view of genetics?

 

Answer:

  • The environment and species are gradually evolving over the years.
  • The variation in organisms often helps them to adapt to the environment in a better way. 
  • But tigers, due to their low population, do not have many genetic variations that make them adapt better to the changing environment.
  • A loss of genetic variability can cause the entire population to be susceptible to diseases, without the chance to adapt and survive.
  • So if the environmental changes are not controlled, tigers can go extinct as they will not be able to adapt.

This is a huge cause of worry as it would be a permanent loss of tiger genes and would affect the diversity in nature .

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Maninder Singh

CA Maninder Singh is a Chartered Accountant for the past 14 years and a teacher from the past 18 years. He teaches Science, Economics, Accounting and English at Teachoo