Genetic variation is an important evolutionary force as it allows natural selection to increase or decrease frequency of alleles already in the population.Genetic diversity is important because it helps maintain the health and viability of a population, by including alleles that may be valuable in resisting diseases, pests, and other stresses. Maintaining diversity gives the population a buffer against environmental changes, and a population that has a higher variability of alleles may be better able to evolve to adapt to the new environment.

This week's learning materials explain the important role of genetic variation in wildlife populations. This assignment focuses on a case study of the Florida panther demonstrating the evolutionary importance of genetic variation and the effects of inbreeding depression. This assignment and related discussion will prepare you for writing Sections 1, 3 and 5 of your final briefing.Please read the news articleDownload Please read the news article,and the four reading resources listed below, then complete the assignment.

Reading Resources:

Primary literature:

• Charlesworth, D., and Willis, J. H. (2009).The genetics of inbreeding depressionDownload The genetics of inbreeding depression.Nature Reviews Genetics. 10: 783-796.
• Johnson, W. E., Onorato, D. P., Roelke, M. E., Land, E. D., Cunningham, M., Belden, R. C. ... O'Brien, S. J. (2010).Genetic restoration of the Florida PantherDownload Genetic restoration of the Florida Panther.Science. 329: 1641-1645.

News articles:

• A brief on the conservation planLinks to an external site.from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service
• A summary of the storyDownload A summary of the storyfromNational Geographic News

Instructions:

Please answer the following three questions.

2. Review this figure adapted from the original journal article on the restoration of the Florida panther. This graph shows survivorship curves the percent of individuals in the group that survive to various ages: g 8 8 survivorship (%) u o +ssss Florida/Texas hybrids descendents of hybrids that mated with Texas pumas or lades panthers = = = pure Florida panthers and the descendents of hybrids that mated with pure Florida panthers Which panthers are most likely to survive to the oldest age? Which panthers exhibit the highest mortality at young ages? Give a potential genetic explanation for why the descendants of hybrids and other lineages don't survive as well as the hybrids themselves. Instructions: Please answer the following three questions. 1. Review this figure adapted from the original journal article on the restoration of the Florida panther: Counts by genotype g M\\/\\ minimum number of panthers 2 1905 time [] = pure Everglades panthers B -~ pure Florida panthers W - pure Texas pumas [ ~ panthers descended from crosses between locals and Texas pumas [l = panthers of unknown descent Were panthers descended solely from the original Florida and original everglade populations successful? How do you know this? = Describe how the panthers' population size changed over time