Genetics & Extinction PDF
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This document examines the relationship between genetics and extinction, highlighting how genetic diversity affects a species' ability to adapt and thrive in various environments. It also discusses the concept of effective population size and its importance in conservation efforts.
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Genetics & Extinction At the end: saw the consequences of extinction and its relationship with genetic diversity/variation Reproduction and survival = fitness Small pops may have low genetic diversity thus reduced evolutionary potential, poor ability to cope with environmental extremes and...
Genetics & Extinction At the end: saw the consequences of extinction and its relationship with genetic diversity/variation Reproduction and survival = fitness Small pops may have low genetic diversity thus reduced evolutionary potential, poor ability to cope with environmental extremes and infectious diseases than populations with higher genetic diversity Loss of self-incompatibility alleles in small pops of many plants leads to reduced fitness MHC with low diversity may cause species to suffer dramatically from outburst of pests, parasites and infectious diseases Evolutionary forces Mutation Migration and gene flow Natural selection Drift Neutral alleles under the Random genetic drift influence of drift, but not selection.... can drift in frequency for long periods of time before eventually becoming lost or fixed in a population Natural selection Genetic rescue Consequences of loss of genetic diversity Fitness Post-2020 GBF: Genetic diversity Ne and H-loss Watch the first 30 minutes on what effective population size https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oku8eTqH_hE http://www.uwyo.edu/dbmcd/molmark/lect07/ lect7.html Genetic diversity and Extinction vortex Reduced evolutionary potential Genotypes, phenotypes, their environment and plasticity At the end: saw the consequences of extinction and its relationship with genetic diversity/variation Reproduction and survival = fitness Small pops may have low genetic diversity thus reduced evolutionary potential, poor ability to cope with environmental extremes and infectious diseases than populations with higher genetic diversity Loss of self-incompatibility alleles in small pops of many plants leads to reduced fitness MHC with low diversity may cause species to suffer dramatically from outburst of pests, parasites and infectious diseases Key take home messages Class assignment Identify a species of conservation concern and discuss how the interaction of its biological traits/life history with environmental factors (e.g. climate change) make the species/population(s) prone to extinction. Max 2 pages ½ space font size 12
