Lecture 15 - Conservation Genetics

Question 1

What are the six fields that conservation biology integrates?

Answer 1

1. ecology
2. behavior ecology
3. physiology
4. molecular biology
5. genetics
6. evolution

Question 2

What are the 2 fields that make up conservation genetics?

Answer 2

• genetics

- evolution

Question 3

Why has the interest in conservation biology grown?

Answer 3

concerns over loss of biodiversity

Question 4

We are losing _______ at all levels

Answer 4

diversity

Question 5

What are 2 reasons to preserve biodiversity?

Answer 5

1. for its own sake

2. for humans own sake

Question 6

What are 5 ecosystem services?

Answer 6

1. pollination
2. nutrient cycling
3. purification of air/water
4. detoxification/decomposition of wastes
5. moderation of weather extremes

Question 7

What are 2 uses of genetics in aid conservation?

Answer 7

1. diagnose populations/species at genetic risk

2. prioritize populations/species worth of protection

Question 8

What are 2 reasons that cause a small pop. to be at genetic risk?

Answer 8

1. inbreeding depression

2. low genetic variation

Question 9

What is inbreeding depression?

Answer 9

• breeding with close relative

- increases chance that parents will share same deleterious recessive alleles

Question 10

In inbreeding depression what happens to the deleterious recessives?

Answer 10

exposed as homozygotes in offspring

Question 11

What can low genetic variation result in?

Answer 11

-reduced ability to adapt to environmental changes

EX: alterations in climate

Question 12

What are examples of a species harboring genetic variation to deal with never experienced challenges?

Answer 12

• melanic moths

- pesticide tolerance

Question 13

Which species are particularly vulnerable to environmental challenges?

Answer 13

species with low genetic variation

Question 14

What does low genetic var. and small pop. cause?

Answer 14

extinction vortex

Question 15

What is a primary example of an extinction vortex?

Answer 15

prairie chickens

Question 16

What is effective population size?

Answer 16

• size of ideal pop

- lose genetic variation due to genetic drift at same rate as actual pop.

Question 17

What are 5 qualities of an ideal population/

Answer 17

1. random mating
2. no fluctuations in pop. size over ime
3. no overlapping generations
4. equal family sizes
5. equal sex ratios

Question 18

What does deviations from these ideal conditions generally cause?

Answer 18

effective pop size to be lower than census size

Question 19

What are 2 general rules of conservation biologists?

Answer 19

1. preserve things that are unique/unusual

2. do not put resources towards hybrids

Question 20

What is an extinction vortex?

Answer 20

result of interaction between low genetic variation + small pop size (EX: prairie chicken)

Question 21

What is Ne?

Answer 21

• Effective population size
• size of an ideal population that would lose genetic variation due to genetic drift at same rate as the actual population

Question 22

What are ideal conditions for effective population size?

Answer 22

• random mating
• no flucuations in pop size over time
• no overlapping generations
• equal family sizes
• equal sex ratios

Question 23

What are the 5 things that happen cyclically in a small population?

Answer 23

• small population
• inbreeding/genetic drift
• loss of genetic variability
• lower fitness and population adaptability
• lower reproduction, higher mortality