Reading Assignment: Mathematics in Conservation: The Case of the Endangered Florida Panther By Geffrey F. Stopper, Department of Biology Andrew G. Lazowski, Department of Mathematics Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
Mathematics in conservation -- Worksheet (TO BE SUBMITTED ON BLACKBOARD)
Question 1 Given that the passing of alleles into gametes is random, if we observe one gamete (egg or sperm) of an individual at a specific gene/locus:
a. What is the probability that the allele in that gamete is the one from the father of the individual making the gametes?
50%
b. What is the probability that the allele in that gamete is the one from the mother of the individual making the gametes?
my answer is 1/2
Question 2
a. In Figure 2, what is the frequency of Allele A1 [p, the dominant allele] in the population (i.e., what proportion of the alleles at Locus A are of the type A1)? Freq of A1 aka p? 0.6
b. In Figure 2, what is the frequency of Allele A2 [q, the recessive allele] in the population (i.e., what proportion of the alleles at Locus A are of the type A2)? Freq of A2 aka q? 0.4
Question 3
Given that the population depicted in Figure 2 reproduces to make a generation of offspring and using the allele frequencies you calculated for that population:
a. What is the probability of an individual in the offspring generation being homozygous [p2] for A1?
1
0.36
b. What is the probability of an individual in the offspring generation being homozygous [q2] for A2?
0.16
C. What is the probability of an individual in the offspring generation being heterozygous [2pq]?
0.48
Question 4
Given the population we used in the example above, answer the following:
a. What is the probability that Allele Ay eventually becomes fixed in the population?
0.6
b. What is the probability that Allele Ay eventually disappears from the population?
0.4
c. What is the probability that Allele A2 eventually becomes fixed in the population?
0.4
c. What is the probability that Allele A2 eventually disappears from the population?
0.6
2
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Question 5
Let's calculate the effect of inbreeding on the expression of rare deleterious alleles.
a. Consider a rare deleterious recessive allele for a specific gene/locus. In this hypothetical population, the deleterious recessive allele exists at a proportion of 0.01. In an offspring with randomly chosen parents, what is the probability that the offspring will be homozygous for the deleterious recessive allele [q]?
0.0001
Question 6
Summarize the three major problems with population size.
As the human population sizes increase around the world, they are constantly changing, depleting fragmenting habitats of wild species because large mammals tend to require large habitats to survive and produce offspring per year. Also, the habitat changes and fragmentations are detrimental to large animals.
Question7
Summarize the observed trends in the traits in Tablel.
The observed trends in table 1 determine the Florida population from 1970-1995 which explains the average of each typ