The causes and consequences of variation

... The causes and consequences of variation Variation is the differences that exist between members of the same species. It can be caused by environmental or genetic factors. Genetic variation tends to be permanent and stays within the population gene pool (unless it is erased via evolution) and can effect both the phenotype and the genotype of an organism. The environmental differences within or between species cannot be inherited by offspring and are only able to influence the phenotype of a species. Variation can either be continuous and discontinuous. Continuous variation is when there is a complete range of measurements between two extremes. An example of this type of variation can be seen in the height of humans, which ranges from the shortest to the tallest individual in a population. This is an example of polygenic inheritance and the pattern of variation reflects the fact that there are many different combinations of

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