Evolution questions
On the Hawaiian islands, introduced avian malaria is thought to be a cause of population decline for native birds. For example, it is estimated that Hawaiian honeycreepers may experience annual population mortality of more than 60% due to malaria infection.
For the following questions, assume that the honeycreeper genome size is approximately 1.1x10^9bp (remember that birds, like most animals, are diploid), and the rate of mutation occurrence is 2x10^-7 mutations/site/generation.
1. How many new mutations are predicted to occur in the functional region (8%) of the genome each generation? (Show your work/outline the equations in at least 2 steps)
2. If, in a year with a particularly high rate of malaria infection, a single honeycreeper population lost 90% of its individuals, explain how the effects of genetic drift increase and the effects of natural selection decrease as a result of the population shrinking? (1-2 sentences )