UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO – SRI LANKA

FACULTY OF TECHNONOGY

BBST (Hons) Degree in Environmental Technology

Second Year – Semester I - Assignment – July 2021

ET 2302
Ecology
Theory (Lecture 5-6)
Assignment NO – 04
Date – 15th July 2021
Index NO – 2019t00572

Answer all the FOUR questions given.

1. Darwinism is based on two observations.

I. List those two observations in Darwinism (4 marks)

a) Variation
b) Over production

II. What are the two inferences based on the above two observations? (4 marks)
a) Individuals, whose inherited traits give them a higher probability of surviving and
reproducing in a given environment tend to leave more offspring than other individuals.
b) This unequal ability of individuals to survive and reproduce will lead to the accumulation of
favorable traits in the population over generations.

2. Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.

I. What are the three mechanisms that change allele frequency? (6 marks)
a) Natural selection
b) Genetic drift
c) Gene flow

II. What is the only mechanism that allows evolutionary adaptation from the above mentioned three
mechanisms? (2 mark)
 Natural selection

3. Define the following terms (10 marks)

I. Allele
 Each of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same
place on a chromosome.

II. Homozygosity
State of possessing two identical forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each parent.

III. Heterozygosity
The proportion of sites on the chromosome at which two randomly chosen copies differ in DNA
sequence.

IV. Monogenic traits

Monogenic traits are disorders caused by variation in a single gene and are typically recognized
by their striking familial inheritance patterns.

V. Polygenic traits
A polygenic trait is one whose phenotype is influenced by more than one gene.

4.
I. List three sources of genetic variation (6 marks)
a) Formation of New Alleles
b) Altering Gene Number or Position
c) Rapid Reproduction

II. Sexual reproduction shuffles existing alleles and deals them at random to produce individual
genotypes. Write three mechanisms that cause shuffling of alleles. (6 marks)
a) Independent assortment of homologous chromosomes in meiosis
b) Crossing over during meiosis
c) Random fertilization

Timely submission = 2 marks

Total = 50 marks