[Date]
ANS3701 Assignment 6
Semester 2 2024 - DUE 30
September 2024
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
, ANS3701 Assignment 6 Semester 2 2024 - DUE 30 September 2024
Question 1
In conservation genetics, heterozygosity is a fundamental measure of genetic
diversity within a population. For example, if a population of leopards has an
observed heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.35, this means 35% of individuals possess
different alleles at a given genetic locus. In comparison, expected heterozygosity
(He) represents the level of genetic variation expected under random mating, and a
much higher He value of, for example, 0.52 would indicate potential inbreeding or
genetic drift, thus reducing diversity in this population. The inbreeding coefficient
(Fis) quantifies the extent of inbreeding, with values closer to 1 suggesting higher
levels of inbreeding. If a population of leopards shows a Fis of 0.33, it points to a
significant reduction in genetic diversity compared to a connected population with
a lower Fis of, for example, 0.05. When populations experience events like genetic
bottlenecks, where population numbers decrease drastically, allele frequencies
become skewed, resulting in reduced allelic richness (i.e. the number of alleles per
locus). This can be detected through genetic tests like the M-ratio, where a low
value may signal the effects of a bottleneck. 2 Effective population size (Ne) refers
to the number of individuals contributing to the next generation's gene pool (i.e.,
the number of reproductive individuals in a population) and is often lower than the
censused population size due to factors like unequal sex ratios or varying
reproductive success. For example, if a population census size is 120 but the Ne is
only 40, this would indicate genetic vulnerability even though the actual
population size is quite large. Consider the following scenario and answer the
questions that follow. You are part of a team of conservation biologists working to
conserve an isolated population of leopards in a remote region. Due to habitat
ANS3701 Assignment 6
Semester 2 2024 - DUE 30
September 2024
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
, ANS3701 Assignment 6 Semester 2 2024 - DUE 30 September 2024
Question 1
In conservation genetics, heterozygosity is a fundamental measure of genetic
diversity within a population. For example, if a population of leopards has an
observed heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.35, this means 35% of individuals possess
different alleles at a given genetic locus. In comparison, expected heterozygosity
(He) represents the level of genetic variation expected under random mating, and a
much higher He value of, for example, 0.52 would indicate potential inbreeding or
genetic drift, thus reducing diversity in this population. The inbreeding coefficient
(Fis) quantifies the extent of inbreeding, with values closer to 1 suggesting higher
levels of inbreeding. If a population of leopards shows a Fis of 0.33, it points to a
significant reduction in genetic diversity compared to a connected population with
a lower Fis of, for example, 0.05. When populations experience events like genetic
bottlenecks, where population numbers decrease drastically, allele frequencies
become skewed, resulting in reduced allelic richness (i.e. the number of alleles per
locus). This can be detected through genetic tests like the M-ratio, where a low
value may signal the effects of a bottleneck. 2 Effective population size (Ne) refers
to the number of individuals contributing to the next generation's gene pool (i.e.,
the number of reproductive individuals in a population) and is often lower than the
censused population size due to factors like unequal sex ratios or varying
reproductive success. For example, if a population census size is 120 but the Ne is
only 40, this would indicate genetic vulnerability even though the actual
population size is quite large. Consider the following scenario and answer the
questions that follow. You are part of a team of conservation biologists working to
conserve an isolated population of leopards in a remote region. Due to habitat
