Chapter 17: Population Genetics

1.     What were Hardy and Weinberg interested in analyzing?

2.     What is a gene pool?

3.     What assumptions did Hardy and Weinberg have in their analysis?

4.     How is the Hardy-Weinberg principle used a null hypothesis? What is a null hypothesis?

5.     Given the frequencies of alleles in a population, be able to calculate:

a. the expected frequency of the genotypes in the next generation

b. the expected frequency of the phenotypes in the next generation

c. the expected frequency of the alleles in the next generation

6.     What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation? Be able to explain it in words.

7.     Why does the Hardy-Weinberg equation equal one?

8.     What are the two predictions of the Hardy-Weinberg Principle? What does it mean if both of the predictions are met? What does it mean if one of the predictions is not met?

9.     Does the Hardy-Weinberg principle argue that allele frequencies move towards 50%?

10.  Does the Hardy-Weinberg principle argue that dominant alleles tend to increase in frequency?

11.  In directional selection, does the mean and/or the variance of the value of a trait change?

12.  In stabilizing selection, does the mean and/or the variance of the value of a trait change?

13.  In disruptive selection, does the mean and/or the variance of the value of a trait change?

14.  If the frequency of one allele increases, is that directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection?

15.  If disadvantageous alleles are lost, is that directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection?

16.  Island dwarfism is example of which: directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection?

17.  If intermediate traits have higher fitness, is that directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection?

18.  If extreme phenotypes have higher fitness than intermediate ones, is that directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection?

19.  What is genetic drift?

20.  In genetic drift, what is the cause of the change in allele frequencies?

21.  Is genetic drift more of a factor in large or small populations?

22.  What is the founder effect?

23.  How can the founder effect determine the outcome of genetic drift?

24.  What are population bottlenecks?

25.  How can population bottlenecks affect genetic drift?

26.  What are two causes of population bottlenecks?

27.  What is gene flow?

28.  Which one of the following can not lead to speciation: high mutation levels, genetic drift, extreme population bottleneck, increased gene flow?

29.  What are mutations?

30.  What is the only way new alleles are created?

31.  Mutations are _____ with respect to fitness.

32.  What is the primary evolutionary force for unicellular organisms?

33.  Are most mutations beneficial or detrimental?

34.  When does sexual selection occur?

35.  Sexual selection is a special form of _______.

36.  Are males or females typically the ones doing the sexual selection? Why? What is the theory?

37.  Why do males fight more than females?

38.  What is sexual dimorphism and why does it exists?