10. The Florida panther is a type of mountain lion. About
a hundred years ago, Florida panthers scattered and
mated with other subspecies of mountain lions in nearby
populations.
a. Explain how the gene flow in this population would be
affected by the introduction of the Florida Panthers.
b. Would genetic variation increase or decrease in the
mountain lion population?

a) Gene flow in a genetic population is defined as the transfer of genetic variation from one population to another.

Gene flow is considered as one of the impotant mechanism of genetic diversity in a population. Migrant affects the genetic diverisity in a population by modifying the allele frequencies.

When florida Panthers introduced with subspecies of mountain lions it increases the genetic flow in the population of mountain lion as the florida panther were carrying a particular variant of a gene.

B) Due to high genetic flow the genetic vriation in the population will decrease between the two groups and results in increasing homogeneity. High rate of gene flow lead to a combination of the two gene pools that reduces the genetic variation. Hence, genetic variation will decrease in the mountain lion population.