What can be inferred if a population’s alleles or gene frequencies are not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

If a population's alleles or gene frequencies are not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, it indicates that evolutionary forces are acting upon the population. The Hardy-Weinberg principle provides a framework for understanding genetic variation in a population that is not evolving. It assumes conditions such as no mutations, no gene flow, random mating, a large population size, and no natural selection.

Deviation from this equilibrium suggests that one or more of these conditions are not being met, which leads to changes in allele frequencies over time — a process known as evolution. This can occur due to factors such as natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow (migration), or mutations. Thus, the observation that a population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be directly associated with the concept that evolutionary changes are happening within that population.

Other options are less applicable in this context; for instance, stability in a population would actually reflect equilibrium rather than evolution, and statements regarding homozygosity or the absence of mutations would not necessarily correlate with the population's evolutionary status if equilibrium is not maintained.