A population of birds was described as being in genetic equilibrium (Hardy Weinberg equilibrium) for a gene locus determining beak colour - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 25 - 2002 - Paper 1
Question 25
A population of birds was described as being in genetic equilibrium (Hardy Weinberg equilibrium) for a gene locus determining beak colour.
It would be reasonable to ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A population of birds was described as being in genetic equilibrium (Hardy Weinberg equilibrium) for a gene locus determining beak colour - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 25 - 2002 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. there was gene flow occurring between this population and an adjacent population.
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Answer
While gene flow can alter allele frequencies by introducing new alleles, in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, there should be no gene flow from adjacent populations.
Step 2
B. there was selection against one of the beak colours in this population.
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Answer
If there were selection against a specific beak colour, it would disrupt the equilibrium by altering allele frequencies, hence this statement would not be true.
Step 3
C. the birds in the population were mating at random.
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This statement is true. One of the key assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is that mating must be random. Therefore, this suggests that the population is indeed in genetic equilibrium.
Step 4
D. the population was small.
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A small population can lead to genetic drift and deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, which would contradict the statement that the population is in genetic equilibrium.
