Q3 Page 150 - Chapter 9 Class 10 - Heredity and Evolution

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 .