Posted on 12/05/2005 3:00:51 PM PST by dawn53
Pure Vanity Post: My son is taking Biology and working on a homework assignment. Nowhere in his notes are instructions on how to do this problem, and no examples in the book.
It seems like the bulk of the assignment is answering general questions about hypothetical circumstances, not involving mathematical computations. But he showed me this one and he and I are having a bit of an argument about how to solve the mathematical part of the problem.
So here's the beginning of the question, that is in question, LOL.
"Non-lethal mutation rates are usually very low-let's say 1 in a million. If each African Antelope produce offspring per individual over an average lifetime of 10 years, and we have a population that is maintained at 24,000 individuals over time, how many spontaneous non-lethal mutations would enter the gene pool after a period of 1,000 years?"
Our discussion hinges on whether the birthrate and lifespan are pertinent information to solving the problem since it states that the population is maintained at 24,000. I'm no biology major, and neither is he. He's usually right on this kind of information, and I'm usually wrong, but this time I think I'm right, LOL!
Anyone care to chime in? Inquiring minds want to know!
How many offspring?
left that out, sorry, 5 offspring per individual over an average life of ten years
How many grasshoppers with a wooden leg would it take,
to kick all the seeds out of a dill pickle?
If each African Antelope produce offspring per individual over an average lifetime of 10 years, and we have a population that is maintained at 24,000 individuals over time, how many spontaneous non-lethal mutations would enter the gene pool after a period of 1,000 years?"
Sorry, it's in post two, 5 births per lifetime per antelope.
.0121?
Don't know, but I'd sure like a dill pickle right now, lol.
Oops - 120.
Care to explain your reasoning?
How're they doing this, anyway? Parthogenesis?
That's not a rate. A rate would be 1 in a million per year, or per generation. What is the time increment?
That's what the problem says...
Disclaimer: I'm not qualified in the least to give an expert opinion, but I like these kinds of questions. So here are my thoughts.
Over a period of 1,000 years, at an average population of 24,000 with a 10 year life span, there will have been 2,400,000 antelopes. So the non-lethal mutation rate is 2.4. I don't think the birthrate is important because it says they live an average of 10 years. An average life span of 10 years seems high considering that the number will include those who died at a young age, but the 10 year figure was probably used to simplify the question.
If, however, it is a multiple choice question, I would go with "B".
Let us know the correct answer when you find out.
OK. The population turnover is 24,000 every ten years. So that's 24,000 x 100 in 1000 years, or 2,400,000 individuals born in 1000 years. If the NL mutations amount to 1 per million, then there will be 2.4 mutations.
At least, that's my best guess.
Doesn't say. Most of the questions are just hypothetical situations like:
If you separated populations by a ten foot wall, would they evolve differently...real brain twisters, LOL.
The whole chapter seems to be on Natural Selection.
It's a badly posed problem, then. I would suggest your son in his answer state that he has assumed what is meant is 1 in a million per animal per generation. That is the only assumption that makes all of the information provided relevant.
It's a trick question, there are NO African Antelope!!!!!!
Presumably one per million births, though I expect the number of non-fatal mutations to actually be much higher (though most of them aren't apt to be of much consequence).
It would seem that in a field of 24,000 antelopes there would be approximately 12,000 births per year. So in 1,000 years there should be 12,000,000 births. If mutations occur at a rate of one per million births, that would suggest 12 mutations.
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