Genetic variability describes which of the following?
A - How likely a variation is to be hereditary
B - The potential for a characteristic to vary within a population
C - The amount of variation within a population
D - How harmful a mutation will be to an individual
E - The prevalence of random mutations within a population
Answer: B - The potential for a characteristic to vary within a population
GENETIC VARIABILITY is the potential for a characteristic to vary within a population, which can be measured. It is different from genetic variation because instead of measuring the actual variation it measures how the trait will vary. It is directly related to biodiversity and evolution because a population needs enough of it to adapt and evolve to environmental changes.