CSI Wildlife: Analyzing Genetic Evidence

Click & Learn

Student Worksheet
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INTRODUCTION
This worksheet walks through Case One and Case Two of the CSI Wildlife Click & Learn, except for the
Frequency Primer section at the end of Case One. A separate document, entitled “Frequency Primer,” may be
used for that section.

In this Click & Learn, you will analyze genetic evidence to solve two cases of elephant poaching based on real
events.

PROCEDURE
As you go through the Click & Learn, follow the instructions below and answer the questions in the space
provided.

CSI Wildlife Introduction

Read the introduction and watch the opening video.
1. What is a keystone species?
A keystone species is a species that when you pull them out of the ecosystem, the whole thing starts to
unravel.

2. Dr. Wasser states that approximately 50,000 African elephants are killed each year. According to the video,
it is estimated that there are around 470,000 African elephants. If these numbers are correct, approximately
what percentage of African elephants are killed each year? Show your work.
Approximately 10.6% of African elephants are killed each year.

3. In one or two sentences, summarize Dr. Wasser’s research and how it is being used to conserve elephants.
Dr. Wasser applies forensic tools to figure out where the elephants that are being poached are located. With
this information, he is able to pinpoint where the worst poaching is occurring and send law enforcement to
help slow the extinction of animals.

Case One
Watch the video and read the introduction on the first slide (“The Crime Scene”).
4. Explain the goal of the case.
The goal of this case is to find the origins of the ivory Once the elephants were found, a truck with a dozen
tusks was found soon after. By using forensic studies, scientists were able to locate where the elephants may
have come from. Science is used to find where the elephants came from and stop the poaching of elephants.

5. Look at the map on the screen. List the region or countries the majority of African elephants inhabit.

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The majority of elephants inhabit Nigeria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe.
Go to the next slide (“How DNA Profiling Works”) and read through the Background section.
6. Look at the gel on the screen. What do the bands on the gel represent?
The middle and right bands on the gel represent the DNA profile of the elephants. The bands to the far left are
the made-up fragments of DNA known lengths. They serve as a reference to the other two columns.

7. DNA profiling is also called DNA fingerprinting. A common misconception about DNA fingerprinting is that
the analysis has to do with actual fingerprints. Explain one similarity and one difference between a human
being’s pattern of bands on an electrophoresis gel and a human fingerprint.
One similarity between the two is that each person’s is unique. The difference between the two is that actual
fingerprints are easy to see, while electrophoresis gel is not easy to see and not easily detected.

Read through the Technique section.

8. A scientist makes primers specific to a particular STR fragment. These primers are then used to amplify the
STR fragment from 10 different elephants. Would you expect the fragments to be the same size in all the
elephants? Explain your answer.
No, the longest ones would be closest to the starting point, and the shortest ones will be closest to the far
end.

9. What is the relationship between the size of a DNA fragment and the distance it migrates in the gel?
The longer the DNA fragment, the slower it moves through the gel.

Run the gel on the screen by pressing the Start button.

10. Which elephant (left or right) has both the largest and smallest fragments?
The elephant to the right has both the largest and smallest fragments.

11. Approximately what sizes (in bp) are the largest and smallest fragments?
The largest fragment is approximately 190 bp and the smallest fragment is approximately 65 bp.

Read through the Application section.

12. Look at the gel on the screen. For Marker C, are the two elephants shown homozygous or heterozygous?
How do you know?
For marker C the two elephants shown are heterozygous. I know this because to be heterozygous for a trait,
you must receive two alleles in that category.

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13. Why do you think scientists use multiple markers to identify individual elephants?
I think that scientists use multiple markers to identify individual elephants because it lessens the chance that
the two individuals will have the same profile.

Answer the questions in the Review section.

14. Show how you calculated the number of base pairs in the 10-repeat unit.
Since there were 10 repeat units, I multiplied 10 by 4 and added 9. This left me with 49 and when I checked
my answer, it was correct.

Go to the next slide (“Finding a Match”) and answer the question, then watch the video on the “Case Solved”
slide.
15. Name two properties of a good marker and explain why good markers are important.
Two properties of a good marker are high variability and it is amplifiable across different species. Good
markers are important because they help find these poached elephants. Without them, scientists
would not have a way to identify the elephants and their tusks.

Case Two
Watch the video and read the introduction on the first slide (“The Crime Scene”).
16. In Case One, you were looking for a match with an individual elephant. How does Case Two differ from Case
One?

Go to the next slide (“Building a Reference Map”). Read through the Background, Technique, and Applications
sections.
17. For the gel in the Applications section, why does the lane for the ivory sample contain only two bands while
the other lanes (A and B) have multiple bands?

18. If an ivory sample has two alleles that are also found in a population sample, does that tell you with
certainty that the ivory sample came from that population? Explain your answer.

Answer the questions in the Review section.

19. If the scientist had collected 20 dung samples, would you expect more bands, fewer bands, or the same
number of bands on the gel? Explain your answer.

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Go to the next slide (“Finding a Location”). Answer the questions until you reach the Eliminating North, East, or
South section.
20. The three populations that were chosen for further analysis are geographically distant from one another.
Why does this approach make more sense than choosing three populations that are geographically close to
one another?

21. In the “Eliminating North, East, or South” section, which population did you eliminate, and which marker(s)
helped you make this choice?

22. In the next section, which population did you eliminate, and which marker(s) helped you make this choice?

Read through the last slide of Case Two (“Case Solved”).

23. By analyzing many more markers and all the populations, Dr. Wasser linked these seized ivory tusks to which
country?

Ivory Trade
Watch the video and read through the final slide (“Stopping Illegal Poaching”).
24. Name two reasons elephant populations are threatened.

25. The introduction to the Click & Learn mentioned that elephants are a keystone species. Based on your
knowledge of this term, explain in your own words why it is important to the ecosystems of Africa to save
the elephant populations.

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