A student reads that deer mice that migrated to the hills of Nebraska originally had dark colored
coats. Over many years, due to a mutation, the coat color of the mice changed to a lighter color to
blend in easily with the sand. Which argument summarizes the mutation in deer mice?
a) It is a harmful mutation as it caused a change in the original coat color of mice.
b) It is a beneficial mutation as it helped the mice survive in their new surroundings.
C) It is a neutral mutation as the change in coat color did not affect any body functions in the
mice, and only helped the survival of the deer mice living in Nebraska.
d) It is a neutral mutation as only the deer mice living in Nebraska were affected, and all other
populations were unaffected.