Answer:
To estimate the number of animals that would be expected to be tan in a population of 650 animals in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we need to know the frequency of the tan allele in the population.
According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, the frequency of alleles in a population will remain constant from generation to generation if certain conditions are met, including random mating, no mutation, no migration, no natural selection, and a large population size. Assuming these conditions are met, we can use the Hardy-Weinberg equation to calculate the expected frequency of the tan allele in the population:
p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1
where p is the frequency of the dominant allele (in this case, the allele for non-tan fur), q is the frequency of the recessive allele (the allele for tan fur), p^2 is the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals (non-tan fur), q^2 is the frequency of homozygous recessive individuals (tan fur), and 2pq is the frequency of heterozygous individuals (non-tan carriers).
Since we don't know the frequency of either allele in the population, we can use the observation that the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to estimate the frequency of the tan allele. In a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, we can assume that:
q^2 = frequency of tan individuals = 650 / total population = 650 / 650 = 1
Therefore, q = sqrt(1) = 1, and p = 1 - q = 0.
This means that all individuals in the population have the homozygous dominant genotype (PP) and would have non-tan fur. Therefore, we would not expect to observe any tan animals in this population.
Note that in reality, populations may not always be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium due to factors such as genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, natural selection, and non-random mating. However, the Hardy-Weinberg principle is still a useful tool for understanding the basic genetics of populations and making predictions about the frequencies of different alleles in a population.