Conservation, Evolutionary, and Ecological Genetics

Question 1

Effective Population (Ne)

Answer 1

number of breeding animals in a theoretical population that would embody the entirety of the genetic diversity of the actual population

Question 2

Ne = 1 is an example of?

Answer 2

a perfectly inbred population

Question 3

Relationship between Ne and Genetic Diversity

Answer 3

lower Ne = less diversity

Question 4

Relationship between Ne and Interrelatedness

Answer 4

lower Ne = higher average relatedness

Question 5

Small Population Problems

Answer 5

1. Inbreeding (dec fertility and offspring viability, more chance of recessive disorders)
2. Population Bottlenecks

Question 6

Population Bottlenecks and Ne

Answer 6

you lose genetic diversity in smaller populations, so if it rebounds, actual population goes up but effective population remains small

Question 7

Genetics Tools and Conservation

Answer 7

-look at wild and captive populations
-formulate mating strategies to maximize genetic diversity
-sex in ovo embryos to manage sex skewed populations
-identifies species differences in phenotypically similar populations

Question 8

Non-Invasive DNA Analysis

Answer 8

do not need to capture and handle individual animals

look at feces, hair, feathers, saliva, shed skin, etc

Question 9

Convergent Evolution

Answer 9

trait shared by two separate species that developed independently as an adaptive response to similar environments or ecological niches (ex: fins/flippers)

Question 10

Evolutionary Genetics

Answer 10

isolate DNA from ancient specimens (fossils, mummies, etc) to reconstruct evolutionary relationships or extinct and endangered animals

Question 11

How do researchers date phylogenetic trees?

Answer 11

sequence the genomes and count the mutations that occur between them to estimate the amount of time passed

Question 12

Is there usually one domestication event?

Answer 12

no - occuring all over (per ancient DNA sequencing)

Question 13

5 Tenets of Evolutionary Genetics

Answer 13

Question 14

Genetic Drift

Answer 14

changes in an allele frequency WITHIN a population

Question 15

Gene Flow

Answer 15

changes/movements in alleles BETWEEN populations

Question 16

Does increased genetic diversity increase or decrease the effective population (Ne) size?

Answer 16

increases Ne

Question 17

Can evolution be fast?

Answer 17

yes (think elephants and tusks)

Question 18

Ecological Genetics

Answer 18

focus on variations in natural populations that affect fitness, how it changes over time and/or between locations

Question 19

Local Adaptation

Answer 19

locally adapted populations will have higher fitness at the native site versus any other population introduced to that site

Question 20

Deer and Prairie Mice Tail Length is an example of what kind of genetics?

Answer 20

ecological

Question 21

Can ecological niches lead to speciation?

Answer 21

yes (example: arctic and gray fox, salamanders)

Question 22

Hybrids

Answer 22

result of mating between two animals or different breeds, varieties, species, or genera; may or may not be reproductively viable (ex: mules vs wolfdogs)

Question 23

Gene Flow and Speciation

Answer 23

if gene flow can keep up, constrain speciation and maintain variation