DZP – AS A2 Half Day Animal Genetics and Inheritance
Specification
How can we deliver it?
topic
Genetic
Introduce a species (jaguar)
crosses
Dominant / recessive – activity / students have a card with particular jaguar traits (give them a card). Circulate and see who else
there is. Work out the rough proportions
Steps to pick up the marks using punnet squares (terminology)
Use example of melanism.
Students pair up, “mate” and then use the punnet square procedure to predict the offspring (complete WS).
Move to another mating, then another.
Then give an example of dihybrid crosses (tiger patterns? – find an example).
Students given tiger card with genes on.
Circulate and do dihybrid crosses.
Discuss – were some crosses too repetitive? Were some genetic combinations more common than others? With reference to the
gene pool which “animals” were most important to mate.
Tigers, giraffes, why are some individuals not considered valuable (Denmark Zoo culling their giraffes?)
Ethical issues related to this element of conservation.
What are the problems that zoos face when choosing potential mates?
Examples from the zoo.
Amur leopard – what are the problems in the wild (genetic diversity). So why have we not given up on conserving this species (good
gene pool in captivity).
Tigers? The Tiger Symposium. Often better to protect and conserve animals in the wild, but zoos have a very important place
because of the gene pool available.
Stud books