Question

Individuals of the same species having non-genetic differences due to the environment are called as
(a) Biotype
(b) Ecotype
(C) Ecophene
(d) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Environmental changes like temperature, light intensity often leads to a population of organisms to develop better survival strategies. This may reflect in their temporary morphological differences with no drastic genetic differences.

Complete answer:
Ecophenes is also known as ecads. They have morphologically changed forms of the same species. These changes may have arisen due to their response to survival to the difference in environments. For example, an American living in Africa will have different levels of melanin pigment as compared to Americans living in Europe. Though these changes are not permanent, it is an organism’s first response in developing abilities to survive in the new land.

Additional Information: -Ecotype is a term used in the field of ecology to describe a genetically different variety of populations within a species. Their difference may have arisen due to the separation by geographical barriers.
-Ecotype is also referred to as a race within a species. This is due to a significant difference in phenotypic characters only due to the environment heterogeneity. The difference in genetic makeup is not colossal enough to restrict them from interbreeding freely.
-Examples include the two ecotypes of Arabis fecunda. It is endemic to the regions of Montana state of America. It can be found in the soil rich in calcareous deposits. One of the ecotypes is known as low elevation groups for they survive in a warm and arid environment while the other ‘high elevation’ group has developed greater tolerance against the drought and thus survive in the upper tops of the plateau regions. Though both are found in the same areas, their region of growth differs by a horizontal distance of 100 km.
-Biotype is different from ecotype in the sense that the group of individuals in a biotype possess a similar genetic constitution with some differences in their survival or attack strategy.
-Its examples include the insect pests Schizaphis graminum. The two biotypes attack the host plant differently. Their identification has been found useful for various crop-breeding programs.
So, the correct answer is ‘Ecophene.’

Note: -Schizaphis graminum is also commonly known as a green bug. It is an aphid pest that often attacks the wheat crops grown particularly in north Tunisia.
-Its action of attack includes extracting a large quantity of sap leading to water and nutrients depletion.