Drag each tile to the correct location on the chart. a population of raccoons lives in a forested area with lots of trees. the raccoons eat insects, eggs, berries, nuts, and small animals such as rodents and frogs. one of the main predators of the raccoons are coyotes, which also prey on rabbits. identify whether the changes to the ecosystem are more likely to increase or decrease the population of raccoons. large parts of the forest are cut down for wood. frogs in a pond near the forest experience a population surge. a disease decreases the population of rabbits in the forest. pollution from a nearby farm decreases the population of insects in the forest. additional rain increases the population of plants in the forest. more permits to hunt coyotes are approved.

The population of raccoons will increase.

The raccoons are one of the most opportunistic mammals when it comes to feeding. They are omnivores, and they eat pretty much everything that is eatable and falls in their arms. They are also not that heavily dependent on the forest for survival, as they can live in multitude of environments and are easily adaptable.

While the cutting of the forest may make some small initial problems in the plant based food supply, the increase of the frogs will balance that, so the menu of the raccoons  will just be more animal based. Because of the increase in the plant populations because of the increased rainfall, new opportunities for feeding will open up for the raccoons for their plant based diet, so they will have an abundance of food.

The decrease of the rabbit populations and the increased permits for hunting the coyote, will mean decrease in the population of the coyotes, thus the raccoons will lose their prime predator.

The big amount of food and the loss of the prime predator will mean that the raccoon population will increase.

the african cheetah.

this species has a relatively low level of genetic

variation because the population was reduced to a small size approxi-

mately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

chapter   outline

24.1

genes in populations and the hardy-

weinberg equation

24.2

factors that change allele and genotype

frequencies in populations

24.3     sources of new genetic variation

population   genetics

24

until   now,   we   have   primarily   focused   our   attention   on   genes  

within   individuals   and   their   related   family   members.   in   this  

chapter   and   chapters   25   and   26   ,   we   turn   to   the   study   of   genes   in  

a   population   or   species.   the   field   of

population   genetics

  is   con-

cerned   with   changes   in   genetic   variation   within   a   group   of   indi-

viduals   over   time.   population   geneticists   want   to   know   the   extent  

of   genetic   variation   within   populations,   why   it   exists,   and   how   it  

changes   over   the   course   of   many   generations.   the   field   of   popu-

lation   genetics   emerged   as   a   branch   of   genetics   in   the   1920s   and  

1930s.   its   mathematical   foundations   were   developed   by   theoreti-

cians   who   extended   the   principles   of   gregor   mendel   and   charles  

darwin   by   deriving   formulas   to   explain   the   occurrence   of   geno-

types   within   populations.   these   foundations   can   be   largely   attrib-

uted to three scientists: sir ronald fisher, sewall wright, and j. b. s.

haldane.   as   we   will   see,   support   for   their   mathematical   theories  

was provided by several researchers who analyzed the genetic com-

position   of   natural   and   experimental   populations.   more   recently,  

population   geneticists   have   used   techniques   to   probe   genetic  

variation   at   the   molecular   level.   in   addition,   staggering   advances  

in   computer   technology   have   aided   population   geneticists   in   the  

analysis   of   their   genetic   theories   and   data.   in   this   chapter,   we   will  

explore   the   genetic   variation   that   occurs   in   populations   and   con-

sider   the   reasons   why   the   genetic   composition   of   populations   may  

change over the course of several generations