Microevolution Topic 8

Population

A group of individuals of a single species that live in the same area at the same time.

Microevolution

Small scale changes in allele frequencies within a population over time, affecting phenotypes and genotypes.

Gene Pool

All the alleles of all the genes in a certain population.

Genetic Structure

The allele frequency and allele distribution (genotype frequency) for a single gene within a population.

Actual Genotype Frequency

Calculated as (# of a particular genotype) / (population size).

Actual Allele Frequency

Calculated using the formula: (2 * # of Homozygous) + (1 * # of Heterozygous) / (2 * Population size).

Hardy-Weinberg Equation

A mathematical equation (p² + 2pq + q² = 1) used to predict expected allele frequencies in a population, given the allele frequencies.

Null Hypothesis in Evolution

The hypothesis stating there is no difference between the actual and expected genetic structure of a population, suggesting it isn't evolving.

Expected Genotype Frequencies

The predicted frequencies of genotypes in a population under the assumption that evolution is not taking place.

Allele Frequency

The relative frequency of an allele (variant of a gene) in a population, often represented as p (for A) and q (for a).