Genetic Drift Training Simulation

In genetic terms, evolution is any change in the relative frequency of alleles in a population. In small populations, an allele can become more or less common simply by chance for reasons other than natural selection. This kind of random change in allele frequency is called genetic drift. Genetic drift may occur when a small group of individuals colonizes a new habitat. These individuals may carry alleles in different relative frequencies than did the larger population. This interactive simulation, developed by ForgeFX for Pearson Prentice Hall, allows students to develop a hypothesis about the effect of genetic drift on populations and then test their hypothesis using the simulator. Predict which population will be affected by genetic drift: your small experimental population or the larger wild population.

In the educational simulation, you can click the Genetic Drift Experiment button to conduct your own experiments on genetic drift. Select ladybugs to colonize the greenhouse for your experiment, and test if genetic drift has a greater impact on small populations than it has on large ones. Click the Alleles Tutorial or Punnett Square Tutorial button to learn more about the population of ladybug beetles you are studying.

Add 10 ladybugs exhibiting the three phenotype choices available in the wild population to the greenhouse. Click the Experimental View button to switch to the experimental screen within the simulation. Record the genotypes and phenotypes of the parental generation of the experimental population lines. Use the Detail Tool to learn about the genotype and phenotype of each specific ladybug. 

Click the Statistics Tool button to make sure you listed all the genotypes and phenotypes in each population. Click the Phenotypes link to view a graph listing all of the phenotypes found in each population. Click the Genotypes link to view a graph listing all the genotypes found in each population.