1.
Define migration in the context of evolutionary biology. Describe the one-island model of migration, and explain its key predicted outcome.
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2.
Explain the role of selection and migration in the maintenance of polymorphism in banding patterns in island forms of the Lake Erie water snake. Be sure to discuss what pattern would be expected if either process were operating without the other.
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3.
Describe Giles and Goudet's study of red bladder campion and the effects of migration on genetic diversity in these plants. Be sure to explain the natural history of their study site and the way(s) in which this created a good model system for the study of migration. What predictions did they make, and how did they test them? What were their key findings?
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4.
Define the term "genetic drift" and give a verbal explanation of this process. Defend the argument that genetic drift results in evolutionary change but not in adaptive change. When drift operates, which of the assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium principle has been violated? What is the general relationship between the effect of drift and population size?
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5.
Explain the founder effect using Clegg et al.'s work on genetic diversity in Australian/Tasmanian silvereyes and the frequency of achromatopsia in the Pingepalese people to illustrate. For Clegg et al.'s work, clearly describe the model system they used, the predictions they made, and how they tested the predictions.
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6.
If drift is allowed to continue over many generations, what changes are predicted in allele frequency and heterozygosity? Illustrate these patterns using Buri's experimental study of fruit flies, Templeton et al.'s studies of Ozark collared lizards, and Young et al.'s plant studies.
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7.
When genetic drift is the only mechanism of evolution operating, what is the relationship between the rate of evolution, the rate of substitution, and the mutation rate? Under drift, how does population size affect the generation and maintenance of genetic diversity?
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8.
Briefly describe the neutral theory of molecular evolution. What initial observations caused Kimura and others to conceive of the theory? What predictions does it make, and how have those predictions been tested. Have the predictions been met?
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9.
Explain the basic approach by which investigators use the neutral theory as a null model to test whether or not natural selection has caused molecular evolution. Describe the Hughes/Nei method of analysis and the MK test for molecular evolution via natural selection, using examples to illustrate as appropriate. In what kinds of loci does natural selection seem to play a particularly strong role?
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10.
Describe the processes of codon bias, hitchhiking, and background selection as they apply to silent site mutations. What general pattern(s) does each produce? What are the implications of these processes for the assumption that synonymous mutations are not exposed to natural selection?
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11.
What is inbreeding and what is its effect on allele and genotype frequencies? Does inbreeding cause evolutionary change? Why or why not?
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12.
Explain Hamilton's reasoning for predicting that inbreeding may be common in the malaria parasite, and describe Paul et al.'s tests of this hypothesis.
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13.
Define the coefficient of inbreeding. If F is greater than zero, what does that tell you about the frequency of heterozygotes vs. the frequency of homozygotes? Briefly describe how pedigree analysis can be used to calculate F.
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14.
Define the term "inbreeding depression" and illustrate using human infant mortality and reduction in hatching success in great tits. What broad patterns have been revealed about inbreeding depression through experimental studies on angiosperms?
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15.
Describe the conservation history of the greater prairie chicken in Illinois, and explain Westemeir et al.'s hypothesis for its decline even after reserves had been established and existing populations protected. Discuss how they tested their hypothesis and explain the results of those tests. Is the scenario presented by this species likely to be unusual for endangered species generally, or are the causes of its decline likely to apply to a number of species? Explain.
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