Activity 1:

1. Why do we consider Lemurs a founder species for Madagascar?

● A small population of the early primates on mainland Africa were swept out to sea due to
a cyclone which is how Lemurs ended up evolving on the island of Madagascar. When
Madagascar separated into its own island apart from Pangea, Lemurs were not present. It
was not until many years later that they arrived and adapted into a species fit for that
environment.

2. Adaptive radiation of Lemurs has led to a diversity of lemur species occupying various
ecological niches. Describe some factors that have contributed to the diversification of Lemurs
over time.
● Some factors that have contributed to the diversification of Lemurs over time include the
movement of the island and thus, changing environment and climate. When Madagascar
entered the “trade wind” belt, the geographical and corresponding climate composition
was altered. Due to the specific areas like rainforests and deserts, certain Lemurs had to
diversify to occupy certain niches.

Activity 2:

1. Using the morphological data only, develop a hypothesis that addresses whether these eight
animals are related or not.
● If the animals have the same colored face, then we suspect that those animals are closely
related. Based on this hypothesis I suspect that Alicia, Bema, and Mbola are all related.
Malala, Garafa, and Rudolpho are related. And finally that Ihary and Razafy are related.

2. If you have decided this is more than one species, what characters would you use to
differentiate the species? What are some potential issues with the characters you have chosen?
If you have decided it is just one species, why do you think the differences are insignificant
enough to constitute different species?
● I am inferring that this is more than one species. I would use the characteristics of face
color, face shape, the presence of a dorsal line, and the presence of a white tail tip in
order to differentiate the species. However, the potential issues with the characters that I
have chosen include that these physical characteristics may change based on their age and
not necessarily indicate different species. Also for example, coat color may be different
depending on at what point of their hibernation season they were captured in.
Activity 3:

1. What is the purpose of the DNA Ladder in the gel above?

● The DNA Ladders in the gel serves as a reference point to use for comparison with the
unknown sample of DNA fragments. The DNA fragments separate based on length and
size. When comparing the known DNA molecules of the DNA ladder to the unknown, we
can estimate their sizes/ base pair length and connect to the corresponding known
fragment.

2. Why do some lanes show two bands and others show one band?
● Some lanes show two bands and others show one band due to polymorphism which is cut
by a restriction enzyme and appears as two pieces, known as restriction fragments. This is
because it appears as different DNA fragment sizes at the specific locus. In the case
where there is no polymorphism, the gene is not cut and stays intact.

3. What is the significance of the single band in Garafa, Malala, and Rudolpho? What
conclusion can we come to about these lemurs?
● The single band in these animals indicates an absence of polymorphism since the
restriction enzyme does not cut it into two restriction fragments. This allows us to
conclude that these lemurs are genetically similar and therefore, related.

4. If we accept that some of the lemurs above are not C. crossleyi and are some "other" lemur
that is morphologically similar to C. sibreei, can we state they are, in fact, C. sibreei? Why or
why not?
● No, just because there are morphologically similarities doesn’t mean they are related or
of the same species. Physical appearances may seem similar due to a variety of
conditions that don’t include genetic similarity. For example, cryptic species may appear
to have minimal physical differences yet their genetic differences classify them as
different species.

5. Using the gel above as evidence, do the results support or negate your hypothesis? Why or
why not?
● Based on the morphological data comparing face color Alicia, Bema, and Mbola are
suspected to be related. Malala, Garafa, and Rudolpho would be suspected to be related.
And finally that Ihary and Razafy would be suspected relatives. However, when using the
gel as evidence, we see that Garafa, Rudolpho, and Malala are related and the remaining
of the 8 animals are related. This partially supports my hypothesis based on
morphological data because they had the same face color. However, it negates it to some
extent because while it was true that they had the same face color and would have been
expected relatives, the other animals had varying face colors yet were still seen to be
 genetically related. Therefore, it could not be the face color alone which identifies them
as separate species.

6. How would you group your lemurs now? If you had to reject your initial hypothesis, refine it
now.
● After comparing the presence of a double versus single band, I would now group the
lemurs based on coat color. It is clear that my original hypothesis of face color did not
directly relate to relatedness. If the lemurs all have a silvery gray coat color, then they are
closely related. If a group of lemurs have a reddish brown coat color, then they are
closely related lemurs.

Activity 4:

1.
Sample Lemur Name Justification for using this
sample
A Malala Single band present
B Mbola Two bands present
C Razafy Two bands present
D Rudolpho Single band present
Table 4 shows the identified Lemur species for the corresponding samples. It includes the
justification for each sample.

2.

Figure 4 shows the observation of DNA fragment separation upon gel electrophoresis
completion. The first and last lane had one band while the middle two had two bands present.
3. Our data does support the hypothesis using morphological data as well as the researcher’s
data. Mbola and Razafy both have two bands, as shown in the researcher’s data. They also have
the same reddish brown coat color as our refined hypothesis suggested would indicate
relatedness. Rudolpho and Malala each only have one band, identical to the researcher’s data and
both have silvery gray coat colors.

Activity 5:

1. Using the gel below, is the "alleged father" the biological father of both children? If not,
which of the two children are biologically his?
● No, he is only the biological father of child 2 as indicated by the matching DNA bands.

2. In the example below, which of the suspects most likely left behind the blood stain at the
scene of the crime?
● Suspect 2 most likely left behind the blood stain at the scene of the crime.

3. In the below example, who can we rule out as a suspect?

● We can rule out suspect 2 because the DNA bands do not match the evidence.

4. The gel below represents FOUR sets of twins. What can you determine about these twins
from the gel?
● Twin sets B and C have more similar DNA composition and are likely to be identical
twins. Whereas twin sets A and D have more differences in the DNA bands and are likely
to be fraternal because they only share some of the same genetic material.