Scenario #2
In 2001, a population of 2,500 poison dart frogs lived in the Amazon rain forest. Due to increased deforestation, the population dwindled to 25 frogs in 2019. New government regulations were enacted in 2022, successfully putting an end to the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest.

Once deforestation was stopped, the poison dart frog population was able to recover. By 2050, the population reached 8,000 frogs. Of that population, 20 are homozygous recessive for being spotted (ss genotype).

q2 –

q –

p –

p2 –

2pq –

Conclusion Questions
Use this information to help you answer the following questions:
The original population’s actual genotype frequencies were: SS – 0.9025, Ss – 0.095, ss – 0.0025.

1. Is the current population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? Yes or No

2. Is the current population evolving? Yes or No

3. If the current population is evolving, what type of effect is responsible for genetic drift?

In which case would a scientist choose to use a dissecting microscope rather than a compound microscope

To answer this question, researchers studied populations of the dusky salamander (desmognathus ochrophaeus) living on different mountain ranges in the southern appalachian mountains. the researchers tested the reproductive isolation of pairs of salamander populations by leaving one male and one female together and later checking the females for the presence of sperm. four mating combinations were tested for each pair of populations (a and b)—two within the same population (female a with male a and female b with male b) and two between populations (female a with male b and female b with male a). the proportion of successful matings for each mating combination was measured. for example, when all the matings of a particular combination were successful, the researchers gave it a value of 1; when none of the matings were successful, they gave it a value of 0. then the researchers calculated an index of reproductive isolation that ranged from 0 (no isolation) to 2 (full isolation). the reproductive isolation value for two populations is the sum of the proportion of successful matings of each type within populations (aa + bb) minus the sum of the proportion of successful matings of each type between populations (ab + ba). the table provides data for the geographic distances and reproductive isolation values for 27 pairs of dusky salamander populations.

Types of scientific inquiry that biologist engage in that cannot be completely controlled