Biology 2

OBJECTIVES ‑ chapter 21

After reading this chapter and attending lecture, the student should be able to:

I . Explain what is meant by the "modem synthesis".

2. Explain how microevolutionary change can affect a gene pool.

3. In their own words, state the Hardy‑Weinberg theorem.

4. Write the general Hardy‑Weinberg equation and use it to calculate allele and genotype frequencies.

5. Explain the consequences of Hardy‑Weinberg equilibrium.

6. Demonstrate, with a simple example, that a disequilibrium population requires only one generation of

random mating to establish Hardy‑Weinberg equilibrium.

7. Describe the usefulness of the Hardy‑Weinberg model to population geneticists.

8. List the conditions a population must meet in order to maintain Hardy‑Weinberg equilibrium.

9. Explain how genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, nonrandom mating and natural selection can cause

microevolution.

10. Explain the role of population size in genetic drift.

11. Distinguish between the bottleneck effect and the founder effect.

12. Explain why mutation has little quantitative effect on a large population.

13. Describe how inbreeding and assortative mating affect a population's allele frequencies and genotype

frequencies.

14. Explain, in their own words, what is meant by the statement that natural selection is the only agent

of microevolution which is adaptive.

15. Describe the technique of electrophoresis and explain how it has been used to measure genetic

variation within and between populations.

16. List some factors that can produce geographical variation among closely related populations.

17. Explain why even though mutation can be a source of genetic variability, it contributes a negligible

amount to genetic variation in a population.

18. Give the cause of nearly all genetic variation in a population.

19. Explain how genetic variation may be preserved in a natural population.

20. In their own words, briefly describe the neutral theory of molecular evolution and explain how changes

in gene frequency may be nonadaptive.

21. Explain what is meant by "selfish" DNA.

22. Explain the concept of relative fitness and its role in adaptive evolution.

jW