He light colored rock pocket mice in new mexico blend in with the sandy soil of the area, but on darker lava flow, the light color makes them stand out, making them easy prey for owls, hawks, and other visual predators. a gene mutation has produced a darker fur color that makes the some mice better able to survive predators in the lava environment. over time, the darker colored mice became more common in the area of the lava flow. why did dark colored rock pocket mice first appear in the population? a) their environment changed. b) they have a random gene mutation that affects their fur color. c) individuals within the population had to change color to blend in with the environment d) predators eat light-colored rock pocket mice, making dark-colored rock pocket mice more likely to survive.

Answer: option B they have a random gene mutation that affects their fur colour.

Explanation :-

Variation is the phenomena which occurs in all populations.These variations result in slight differences in the phenotypes of individuals .These variations only arise due to random mutations that arise in the individuals’ genome and then can be inherited by their offspring.There is always a probability of one particular trait to make the individuals survive better in the environment as compared to other trait. The individuals having the trait that helps them to survive better in the environment tend to survive more and leave more progeny. This is termed as survival of the fittest. Thus, according to the question it can be inferred that the dark fur colour arose due to a random mutation since it is the only source of variation. Since, in the given environmental conditions the mice having the dark fur colour were less susceptible to the predators they are better fitted to survive.The dark brown fur coat mice, survive better, leave more progeny and hence, increase their population with time. However, the orginal source of origin of this trait was a random mutation. Had this mutation not occured, the dark coloured fur mice would not have been there.

So, a random gene mutation affecting the fur colour made the dark coloured mice first appear in the population.