Florida panthers have been the target of major conservation efforts over the last few decades. Due to increasing development and habitat loss, their population has become fragmented into small reserves. This has resulted in these small, isolated populations becoming severely inbred. How does inbreeding threaten a population’s health? To counter the effects of habitat fragmentation, conservation biologists are developing corridors to allow individuals to move between these isolated populations. These corridors will promote , which will increase genetic variation and reduce inbreeding.

Roundworms are able to reproduce sexually or asexually. The graph below shows the results of an experiment that compared sexual reproduction rates in roundworm populations exposed to three different bacteria treatments: roundworm populations that were never exposed to bacteria (dotted black line) roundworm populations that were periodically exposed to bacteria that were allowed to evolve (solid black line) roundworm populations there were periodically exposed to bacteria that were not allowed to evolve (highlighted in red). In Treatment 3, the rate of sexual reproduction increased, but then, after 8 generations, decreased. What is the most likely cause of this decrease in sexual reproduction?

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWERS In a population of cows, a single gene controls hair type. The curly hair allele (H) shows incomplete dominance with the straight hair allele (h). The hair of heterozygous individuals (Hh) is wavy. Another gene controls coat color. The red (R) and white (r) alleles are co-dominant. The coloring of heterozygous individuals (Rr) is called roan . After breeding a wavy, roan bull with several wavy, roan females, you observed the following phenotypic ratio in the offspring: 8 curly, red : 16 wavy, roan :  7 straight, white Part 1: Based on this observed ratio,  are the two genes linked?  Part 2:  If they are linked, how are the two genes’ alleles linked?   

Which of the following mechanisms would result in lower genetic diversity within a population?

Originally from South America, potatoes became a common food source in Europe during the late 1700s and early 1800s. During the 1840s, however, the European potato crop collapsed due to the rapid spread of potato blight (a fungal pathogen). The loss of this important food source resulted in mass migration and starvation. Most infamously, the potato blight contributed to the Great Famine in Ireland (though other socio-political factors were also to blame). Before the blight, potatoes were typically propagated clonally, by cutting up the tuber (the part you eat) into pieces and using these pieces to grow new, identical plants. Given what you know about the evolution of sex, why did the clonal propagation of the potato make the crop especially susceptible to a devastating pathogen outbreak?

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER Use the table below to transcribe and translate the following DNA sequence and identify the final polypeptide strand. DNA: 3′ – TTGCGACCAGGGAACCGA – 5′

Based on the biological definition of sex, what is the single character that distinguishes females from males?

A study on blood sharing among vampire bats has shown that a hungry bat is more likely to receive a blood meal from another unrelated individual if the hungry bat has fed that same individual in the recent past. This observation supports the hypothesis that sharing of blood meals could have evolved by way of…

Which statement is true about sexual selection?

Originally from South America, potatoes became a common food source in Europe during the late 1700s and early 1800s. During the 1840s, however, the European potato crop collapsed due to the rapid spread of potato blight (a fungal pathogen). The loss of this important food source resulted in mass migration and starvation. Most infamously, the potato blight contributed to the Great Famine in Ireland (though other socio-political factors were also to blame). Before the blight, potatoes were typically propagated clonally, by cutting up the tuber (the part you eat) into pieces and using these pieces to grow new, identical plants. Given what you know about the evolution of sex, why did the clonal propagation of the potato make the crop especially susceptible to a devastating pathogen outbreak?