Why is an organism's variation important? A Variation ensures that some members of the species survive changes in the environment.

B Variation is what natural selection acts upon and leads to new traits over time.

C Different variations are helpful in different environments, allowing certain genes to be passed on to favor certain traits.

D All of the above are correct.

Coat color in cats is determined by genes at several different loci. at one locus on the x chromosome, one allele (x ) encodes black fur and another allele (xo) encodes orange fur. females can be black (x x ), orange (xoxo), or a mixture of orange and black called tortoiseshell (x xo). males are either black (x y) or orange (xoy). bill has a female tortoiseshell cat named patches. one night, patches escapes from bill\'s house, spends the night out, and mates with a stray male. patches later gives birth to the following kittens: one orange male, one black male, two tortoiseshell females, and one orange female. what are the genotypes of patches, the stray male, and the kittens?