BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

Biology230
2010:OdysseyI

Thisisaclosedbook/notesexam;useofcalculatorsisfine.Pleasewriteininksothatwe
mayregradeuponrequest.Youwillhavetheentireperiodinwhichtocompletetheexam.
Alistofformulaefrompopulationandquantitativegeneticsisprovidedonthelastpage.
PleasewriteyournameonALLpagesoftheexam,aspagesmaybeseparatedtofacilitate
grading.Pleaseshowallyourworksothatwemaygivepartialcredit.

1.Clearly(butsuccinctly)defineandstatethesignificanceofthefollowingterms(5pts.
each).

pangenesis

heterozygosity

2.DarwinbeginsOntheOriginofSpecieswithadiscussionofvariationunder
domestication.Itistheorizedthattheoriginbeginswithdomesticationbecauseartificial
selectionissimilartonaturalselectionbutnotnearlyascontroversial.Darwinusesthis
chaptertobegintointroducesomeofthecentralpoints(orideas)inOntheOriginof
Species(notallofwhichareuniquetoDarwin).NametwoofthemajorpointsofDarwins
theorythatareaddressedinthefirstchapter.Provideanexamplefromthebookand
describehowitdemonstratesonofthemajorpointsyounamed.(5pts).

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

3.

Average Spot Length

Length
Course gravel

Fine
gravel

K-no predators
R-low predation
C-high predation

Describe how the results above support Endler's hypotheses that 1) predation causes selection for
crypsis and 2) sexual selection causes selection for conspicuousness? (4 pts)

4.Alepidopteristisstudyingthegeneticsofwingpatternsinbutterfliesanddiscovered
thatthethreeformsofwingspottingpatternsonthehindwing(onespot,twospots,three
spots)followedanadditivemodelofinheritanceatasinglemendelianlocus.Duringher
fieldcollectionsofbutterfliesforbreedingexperiments,shenoticedthatthesebutterflies
wereofteneatenbybirds.Uponreviewingtheliterature,shefoundthatthefamed
entomologist,I.B.Smart,hypothesizedthattheonespotphenotypewasmorecrypticand
presumablyofhigherfitnessinhighpredationenvironments.Intrigued,shedecidedtotest
thishypothesisbyobservingpredationeventsonthethreedistinctwingphenotypes.After
painstakingfieldobservationsof500predationeventsinarandomlymatingpopulation,
sheobservedthat45threespots,210twospots,and245onespotswereeatenbybirds.
Basedontheseobservations,areonespotbutterfliesmorecryptic?Wouldpredationby
birdsbepredictedtochangethefrequencyofwingspotphenotypesinthispopulation?
Clearlystateandsupportyouranswerquantitatively.(8pts.)

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

5.Identifyandbrieflyoutlinetwoimportantdifferencesbetweentheevolutionarytheories
ofDarwinandLamarck.(4pts).

6.Epigeneticsisarapidlyexpandingareaofgenetics;forourpurposeshere,epigenetics
referstomechanismsofheredityoutsideofthenormalMendeliantransmissionofgenes
fromparenttooffspring.Forexample,themethylationofgenesinadevelopingoffspring
bythemothercanresultingenesilencing;providedthisoccursbeforethegermlineis
sequestered,suchevents(shutdownofgeneexpressionbymethylation)areheritableand
subsequentlypassedfromparenttooffspring.Acolleagueofminerecentlycommented
thatepigeneticscouldbeconsideredLamarcksrevenge.Explain.(6pts).

6.Theconceptofeffectivepopulationsize(Ne)isintegraltotheevaluationofallele
frequencychangeovergenerationaltime.Inlecture,wediscussedhowNemayvaryfrom
speciestospecies(e.g.,largevertebratestendtobecharacterizedbylowerNeestimates
thanaresmallinvertebrates)aswellasfromgenetogene.Inasexuallyreproducing,
diploidorganism,anautosomalgenecanbeconsideredtohaveaneffectivepopulationsize
thatis4timeshigherthanamitochondrialgene(i.e.,autosomalgeneis4Ne,mitochondrial
geneisNe).Allelsebeingequal,wouldgeneticdriftbepredictedtohaveamore
pronouncedeffectonautosomalormitochondrialgenes?Wouldnaturalselectionbe
predictedtobemoreeffectiveinchangingautosomalgeneormitochondrialgeneallele
frequencies?Clearlyexplainyouranswers.(8pts).

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

7.Youareinterestedintheheritabilityofbodysizeininsects(no,really,youare).For
threespeciesyouhavethedatabelowonthevarianceinbodysizeinnaturalpopulations
anddataonthevarianceinbodysizeinhighlyinbred,homozygous(geneticallyidentical)
strainsofeachspeciesthatdevelopinthewildfromfertilizedeggs.Fromthesedata1)
estimateVGineachspecies.AssumethatVDandVIareequivalentacrossallspecies.
Identifythespeciesinwhichitwillbe2)easiesttoartificiallyselectforlargerorsmaller
bodysize,and3)mostdifficulttoselectforincreasedordecreasedbodysize.Clearlystate
why.(10pts.)

ObservedVariances

InbredStrains

NaturalPopulations
Species1

0.40

0.80
Species2

0.04

0.40
Species3

0.40

0.50

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

8.In1965KnudSickstudiedahemoglobinpolymorphismintheAtlanticcod,Gadus
morhua.Heobtainedgenotypedatafor1000fishfromthreedifferentpopulations;the
geographicproximityofthethreepopulationsisgiveninthefigurebelow.Previouslyit
hadbeenhypothesizedthatpopulation3wasreallyjustahybridgroupcomprisedof
individualsfrompopulation1andpopulation2.Thesedatawerecollectedtotestthis
hypothesis.Recallthatmigrationissimplythemovementofindividuals,geneflowisthe
actualinterbreedingofindividualsfromdifferentpopulations,andthatonegenerationof
randommatingrestorestheHardyWeinbergequilibrium.

Region
AA

Aa

aa
Pop.1

40

320

640
Pop 1
Pop 2
Pop.2
640
320
40
Pop.3

340

320

340
Pop 3

A.Whatcanyouinferaboutthepatternsofmatingwithineachofthethreeregions?
B.Howdothedataallowyoutodiscriminatebetweenmigrationandgeneflowamongthe
threeregions?
C.ProvideanexplanationforthepatternofgenotypefrequenciesinPopulation3.
Clearlyjustifyyouranswersqualitativelyandquantitatively.(11points)

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

9.WhileonsabbaticalattheTjrnMarineBiologicalLaboratoryinSweden,yousample
populationsoftherockweedFucusradicansfromtheBalticSeaandtheAtlanticOcean.You
observethatBalticpopulationsarecharacterizedbyanincreasedlevelofmuco
polysaccharidesthatcoatthealgae(slime).Thisincreasedlevelofmucushasbeen
hypothesizedasaselectiveresponsetotheextremeandbrackishconditionsexperienced
intheBaltic.Yoursabbaticalhost,phycologistPhil,hasrecentlyidentifiedagene
(daycare1)thatdeterminesthelevelofmucopolysaccharidesproduced.Youscreenthis
geneinyoursamples,observeseveralallelessegregatinginthepopulations,and
subsequentlycalculateFstas0.20.ProvidetwoexplanationsforahighFstvalueobserved
betweenBalticandAtlanticpopulationsofF.radicans.(6pts.).

10.Acolleagueofyourshasanextensivedatasetonmorphologicaltraitsandlifehistories
inapopulationofredwingedblackbirdsinMarshfield,Wisconsin.Inthispopulation,she
hasmeasuredbodysize,reproductivesuccess,eggsize,eggnumber,andlifespanofeach
birdinthepopulationoveraperiodof12years.Bloodwasalsoobtainedfromeach
individual,allowingaccuratedeterminationofpaternity.Giventhecomprehensivenature
ofthedatasetandthelargenumberofbirdsexamined,youareabletoperforma
quantitativegeneticdescriptionofthesetraitsinthispopulation.Youestimateheritability
foreachtraitandalsogeneratethevariance/covariancematrixamongtraits,fromwhich
youcalculategeneticcorrelations.Youfocusonfemalelifespanandreproductiveeffort
(whichincludesbotheggsizeandnumberofeggsproduced).Wouldyoupredictthe
geneticcorrelationbetweenthesetraitstobenegative,effectivelyzero,orpositive?Why?
(8points)

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

11.Inclass,wediscussedhow,accordingtothepopulationgeneticmodelsofR.A.Fisher,
selectionwillalwayscauseanincreaseintheaveragefitnessofapopulation.Wethenused
theexampleofsicklecellanemiainhumanstodemonstratehowthisshortsightedness
canconstraintheadaptivepotentialofpopulations(i.e.,becauseselectioncausesa
populationtogoupalocalfitnesspeak,thepopulationcannotcrossafitnessvalleyto
climbahigherpeak).Brieflyoutlineanalternativehypothesisforevolutionarychange,
proposedbyS.Wright,thatcouldallowpopulationstocrossfitnessvalleys.Whatwas
perceivedasthebiggestproblemwithWrightsmodel?(10pts).

12.Inourdiscussionsofbothpopulationandquantitativegenetics,weemphasized
mechanismsbywhichgeneticvariationcanbemaintainedinapopulation.Whyisthe
maintenanceofgeneticvariationsoimportantinevolutionarybiology?Providetwoways
inwhichvariationcanbemaintainedat1)thelevelofasinglegene(i.e.,allelicvariation)
AND2)atthelevelofthephenotype(i.e.,foraquantitative/continuous/polygenictrait).
(10pts).

BIOL 230 Midterm I, 2/23/10 Name_____________________________________

Formulas

PopulationGenetics

p2+2pq+q2=1

p'=p(1u)+q(v)

p*=v/(u+v)

q*=u/(u+v)

p*=m/s(dominant)

q*=(m/s)1/2(recessive)

p*=t/(s+t)

q*=s/(s+t)

p=m(pxtpyt)

ppopulation1t+1=ppopulation1(1m)+p
population2(m)

m(qxtqyt)=sqx2(1qx)

FSR=(HRHS)/HR

FRT=(HTHR)/HT

FST=(HTHS)/HT

(1FSR)(1FRT)=1FST

FST1/(4Nem+1)

Wbar=wAAp2+wAa2pq+waaq2

pt+1=(wAAp2+wAapq)/(wAAp2+
wAa2pq+waaq2)

QuantitativeGenetics

P=G+E

G=A+D+I

VP=VG+VE

VG=VA+VD+VI

h2=VA/VP(narrow),h2=VG/VP
(broad)

R=h2S