Final answer:
The conditions to keep Hardy-Weinberg at equilibrium are no mutations, no migration, very large population size, random mating, and no natural selection.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is a principle in population genetics that describes the relationship between the frequencies of alleles in a population and the frequencies of genotypes. The conditions to keep a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are:
- Random Mating: Individuals in the population must mate randomly, with no preference for specific genotypes. This means that there is no selective mating based on traits.
- No Migration (Gene Flow): There should be no migration of individuals into or out of the population. Migration can introduce new alleles or remove existing ones, disrupting the equilibrium.
- Large Population Size: The population should be sufficiently large to minimize the effects of genetic drift, which is the random fluctuation of allele frequencies in small populations.
- No Mutation: There should be no new mutations that introduce new alleles into the gene pool. Mutations can alter allele frequencies and disrupt the equilibrium.
- No Selection: There should be no natural selection acting on the population. This means that all genotypes have equal fitness, and there is no advantage or disadvantage associated with specific alleles.
If these conditions are met, the genotype frequencies in the population will remain stable over generations, and the population will be at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Deviations from these conditions can provide insights into evolutionary processes and mechanisms acting on the population.