Introduction

In this laboratory, you will perform simulations of experiments designed to study factors that can lead to changes in genotype frequency in a population resulting in population genetic changes that influence the evolution of moths. By manipulating genetic and environmental parameters that influence the genetics of these moths, you will learn about important principles of population genetics and the factors that can affect population genetics for any species.

Objectives

The purpose of this laboratory is to:

• Demonstrate important relationships between the many factors that influence population genetics in a simulated population of moths.
• Simulate the effects of changing conditions such as genetic drift, mating patterns, mutations, migration, and genetic bottlenecks, which can lead to microevolution in a population.
• Investigate how changes in genetic and environmental parameters that affect population genetics can affect the evolution of a population.

Before You Begin: Prerequisites

Before beginning PopGenLab you should be familiar with the following concepts:

• Basic terminology, principles, and genetic crosses based on Mendelian genetics.
• Evolution of a species by natural selection, and the effect of changes in allele and genotype frequencies on evolution in a population.
• Important conditions that influence microevolution including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, modes of selection in a population, genetic bottlenecks, and random and nonrandom mating.
• Modes of selection in a population.
• Applying the Hardy-Weinberg principle (theorem) to calculate genotype frequency for a population.