Question

A study published earlier this year used genomic data to construct a phylogenetic tree of lions. All of the lions on the tips of the tree are extant (living).

A. This study discredits the idea that there are two distinct geographic variants of lions: one with lion populations from Central Africa, Asia, and West Africa and the second with lion populations from South Africa and East Africa. Use the tree to defend why these two groups of lions are unlikely.
B. North African lions are critically endangered and some populations have gone locally extinct. Some scientists claim we can "use the most closely related Asian Lions to restore the population." Using what is wrong with this statement, defend which lineage would be better for the purpose of restoring North African lions.
C. The authors of the study measured the amount of heterozygosity in each population of lions and found more
homozygosity (less heterozygosity) in the monophyletic group of lions in Asia, West Africa, and North Africa (compared to the monophyletic group of Central, East, and South Africa).
• Use this information to infer the size of the isolated populations when divergence occurred. Explain your
reasoning.
• Of the populations in Asia, West Africa, and North Africa, which population likely has the least heterozygosity?
Explain your reasoning.
D. The study used the now extinct Cave Lions as sister taxa to modern lions and Leopards as an outgroup to root their tree. Use SketchPad and the template provided named "SketchPadExam3OfficialTemplate.sketchpad" to add "Cave Lion" and "Leopard" to the tree.
E. South African lions and North African lions have black colored manes (compared to the others that are lighter). Use the same tree on the SketchPad template (on which you drew cave lions and leopards) to mark the origin of the black manes if this trait is homologous: Label it "Homology". Mark the origin of black manes on the tree under the hypothesis that it evolved independently: Label it "Homoplasy"
F. Using on the information you drew on the tree in part e, which hypothesis do the data support?
G. State whether each of the following statements is true or false.
A. The monophyletic group of Asian lions has undergone less evolution than the monophyletic group including West African and North African lions.
B. Asian lions have a very small mane. Reduced manes are a derived trait.

Answer 1

1.

A. It is observed that there are two directions of evolution, one group of lions in East, Central and South Africa and the other in Asia, West and North Africa, each group takes a particular evolutionary path and with characteristics characteristic of each group, so that the lions that are proposed are little possible

B. Definitively, lions have an relationship with west African lions, denying that they are closer to those that live in the north, and those that live in the west become the best option to restore lions that live in Africa. from North.

C i) We know that in biology, when there is an isolated population, homozygous individuals predominate, but as the number of individuals in the population increases, this level of homozygotes will decrease, as well as the lions of the second group, assistants, West Africa and from death they have fewer individuals than the lions that inhabit the second group in central, eastern and south africa.

Questions D and E In The graphic

ii) The level of homozygotes is greater in the second group of lions because they do not have lions nearby to cross.

f):

The data supports the homoplasy hypothesis.

Because the homolgy hypothesis would require all the other 4 species to have black manes which is not the case, or would require all the other 4 to have undergone a regression which is not very probable.

g):

1):

That sentence is false and wrong. We cannot talk about more or less evolution, we can only talk about having more time as isolated populations, but that's not even the case here, both branches "Asian" and "West African-North African" diverged at the same time, as one single population divergence created them.

2):

I understand all the other species have large manes, in that case this statemente is true, it is a derived condition.

The ancestral and common condition is to have a large mane, since every lion species owns a large mane, but Asian lions developed a small mane.