The Barton Springs salamander is an endangered species found only inthree adjacent springs in the city of Austin, Texas. There is growingconcern that a chemical spill on a nearby freeway could pollute thespring and wipe out the species. To provide a source of salamanders torepopulate the spring in the event of such a catastrophe, a proposal hasbeen made to establish a captive breeding population of the salamanderin a local zoo. You are asked to provide a plan for the establishment ofthis captive breeding population, with the goal of maintaining as muchof the genetic variation of the species as possible. What factors mightcause loss of genetic variation in the establishment of the captivepopulation? How could loss of such variation be prevented? With theassumption that only a limited number of salamanders can bemaintained in captivity, what procedures should be instituted to ensurethe long-term maintenance of as much variation as possible?
Genetic Variation
Genetic variation refers to the variation in the genome sequences between individual organisms of a species. Individual differences or population differences can both be referred to as genetic variations. It is primarily caused by mutation, but other factors such as genetic drift and sexual reproduction also play a major role.
Quantitative Genetics
Quantitative genetics is the part of genetics that deals with the continuous trait, where the expression of various genes influences the phenotypes. Thus genes are expressed together to produce a trait with continuous variability. This is unlike the classical traits or qualitative traits, where each trait is controlled by the expression of a single or very few genes to produce a discontinuous variation.
The Barton Springs salamander is an endangered species found only in
three adjacent springs in the city of Austin, Texas. There is growing
concern that a chemical spill on a nearby freeway could pollute the
spring and wipe out the species. To provide a source of salamanders to
repopulate the spring in the event of such a catastrophe, a proposal has
been made to establish a captive breeding population of the salamander
in a local zoo. You are asked to provide a plan for the establishment of
this captive breeding population, with the goal of maintaining as much
of the
cause loss of genetic variation in the establishment of the captive
population? How could loss of such variation be prevented? With the
assumption that only a limited number of salamanders can be
maintained in captivity, what procedures should be instituted to ensure
the long-term maintenance of as much variation as possible?
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