Ecologists are using molecular tools to analyze DNA samples from a population of endangered wolves to estimate their population size. They collected DNA samples from 20 individual wolves and found that most of the sampled wolves were closely related to each other. What can be inferred about the population size of these wolves based on this data?
The population size is likely large since closely related individuals indicate a high level of genetic diversity.
The population size is likely small since closely related individuals indicate a lack of genetic diversity.
Nothing about the population size can be inferred from the genetic relatedness of individuals.
The population size is likely large since closely related individuals indicate high reproductive success.
02:31
