Description

Students track changes in the genotype and allele frequencies in populations of moths to study population genetic principles such as Hardy-Weinberg ratios, genetic drift, natural selection, migration, assortative mating, and population bottlenecks. Experiments can be conducted by manipulating parameters such as the initial genotype frequencies, the carrying capacity of each population, the rates of predation on the moth phenotypes, the migration rates among populations, mating preferences among phenotypes, and the frequency of population "crashes."