2.2.2 evolution: fitness

Question 1

what is fitness an indication of

Answer 1

an individual’s ability to be successful at surviving and reproducing

Question 2

what is fitness a measure of

Answer 2

the tendency of some organisms to produce more surviving offpsring than competing members of the same species

Question 3

what does fitness refer to in terms of gene pools

Answer 3

the contribution made to the gene pool of the next generation by individual genotypes

Question 4

how can fitness be classified

Answer 4

in absolute or relative terms

Question 5

what is absolute fitness

Answer 5

the ratio between the frequency of individuals of a particular genotype after selection, to those before selection

Question 6

what is implied if the absolute fitness value is 1

Answer 6

that the frequency of that genotype is stable

Question 7

what does an absolute fitness value greater than one imply

Answer 7

an increase in the genotype frequency

Question 8

what does an absolute fitness value less than one imply

Answer 8

a decrease in the genotype frequency

Question 9

what is relative fitness

Answer 9

the ratio of the number of surviving offspring per individual of a particular genotype to the number of surviving offspring per individual of the most successful genotype