Evolution can be defined as "changes in the allele frequency of a population over time", so, in order to study Evolution, we must examine allele frequencies. This is not as easy as it may seem. Below we see a population, a potentially interbreeding group of organisms in the same geographic area. We notice that most of them are white and some are red. We can suppose that the color of the organism is genetically determined. We can also assume that color is a "single gene trait", determined by two alleles (lets call them A1 (white allele) and A2 (red allele). Observing the organisms we only examine Phenotype. To examine whether the frequency of A1 and A2 change over time, we will have to know how many alleles of each there are to start with! (Genotypes). This is exactly what we will learn in this lab, How to mathmatically estimate Genotypes and allele frequencies from Phenotypes.

Example Click each term below to see different views of our "population".

Phenotype View (initial view)
Genotype View (shows alleles and phenotype)
Allele Frequency View (shows alleles)

Onward to do some "Natural Selection"