sbrownstein's blog

Reserve 2 is one subunit in a ring formation. There is a hole in the middle of the subunit in order to create some sort of separation and differential interactions between the ferrets. This intended dispersion, due to the ring formation, was created to reduce the disadvantages that a single unit reserve obtains. An example of a disadvantage to a single unit reserve would be that the entire population is affected when an allele is lost, instead of a single subpopulation. Yet, I made Reserve 2 a single unit in order to promote more breeding between the ferrets. The increased breeding results in higher heterozygosity, decreasing the risk of genetic drift and the loss of alleles.

Reserve 1 contains decently sized subpopulations that are connected through smaller columns. The subpopulations are rectangular and stacked on top of each other. The columns that connect each subpopulation allow the ferrets to interact between each section. When making this reserve, I wanted to combine the advantages of subpopulations and large reserve size. The subpopulations allow lost alleles to decrease the negative effects on the total population. The large subpopulation size and the columns connecting the subpopulations allow for more interactions between ferrets, resulting in more heterozygosity. The more heterozygosity in the population, the risk of genetic drift and lost alleles is decreased.

When designing these reserves, my goal was for the subpopulations, or total reserve, to be highly connected in order to create a larger breeding ground to maintain heterozygosity and minimize genetic drift. The advantage of having subpopulations is that if one section had the loss of an allele, the whole population does not suffer. Yet, smaller subpopulations are at higher risk for genetic drift. This is because smaller populations have a greater chance of an allele being lost, altering the gene pool. The advantage of the reserve being one single unit is the larger breeding ground. This encourages heterozygosity due to the increased amount of interactions between the population. The disadvantage about this style of reserve shape is that if an allele is lost, it is lost in the whole population. Knowing all of the pros and cons of reserve shapes, I intended to create a perfect balance of subpopulations and a single unit reserve.

The three reserves mentioned in the SimUText had different shapes that resulted in variations of heterozygosity and allelic loss. Reserve A was a single unit circle that obtained high heterozygosity, yet had lost alleles. Reserve B was four separate, small, circular subpopulations that obtained low heterozygosity, yet preserved all alleles. Reserve C was a combination of Reserve A and Reserve B. Reserve C was four separate, small, circular subpopulations that were all connected. Reserve C obtained high heterozygosity and preserved all alleles. The reserves I created were a similar combination to that of Reserve A and Reserve C. Reserve 1 was a large scale version of subpopulations connected, closely related to Reserve C. Reserve 2 was a mixture of Reserve A and Reserve C. It consisted of one single unit, similar to Reserve A, and was dispersed into four corners due to the ring formation, similar to Reserve C.  The similarities between the reserves contributed to their success in preventing genetic drift by encouraging heterozygosity and preserving alleles within the population.

Although the data from both reserves were very similar, I have concluded that Reserve 2 is better for reducing the risk of genetic drift in a population. This is because I believe that maintaining heterozygosity is more important than the loss of alleles when trying to decrease the risk of genetic drift. Preserving genetic variation will ensure that the genes within the population do not drift. On the other hand, losing alleles may influence genetic drift but will be contradicted if genetic diversity is still present within the population.

I believe that both reserves, 1 and 2, were designed equally efficient in promoting heterozygosity and conservation of population alleles. Although the two reserves differ slightly, they had similar outcomes. Reserve 1 had a lower heterozygosity than Reserve 2, yet preserved more alleles. This was due to the presence of subpopulations. The subpopulations restrict the interactions between the ferrets, decreasing the heterozygosity. The conservation of alleles was due to the subpopulation dynamic. The subpopulations decrease the negative effect of the loss of an allele on the entire population due to the sectional divisions. Reserve 2 had higher heterozygosity than Reserve 1, yet lost more alleles. This was due to the single unit design of the reserve. The single unit allowed for more ferrets to interact and breed, increasing heterozygosity. Yet, the single unit was affected more when an allele was loss, due to the lack of division in the reserve.

In addition to Hotez’s work in providing a healthier community, he did research as to why poverty has been linked to a high disease rate. There are three main reasons as to why neglected diseases have caused an outbreak in poor developments are conflict, poverty, and climate. The most interesting idea that was brought to my attention during this presentation was the fact that when a nation is in conflict, such as a war, the healthcare system crashes. This causes a surge in diseases that had not been present in many years. I never thought to connect the presence of diseases to the political conflicts that were occuring in a nation.

        In later years, a new set of global goals were published. There were seventeen goals, in which one obtained the improvement of healthcare. Although the number of goals that mentioned healthcare decreased, it was more specific in addressing the concerns that needed to be improved. Ultimately, poverty related neglected diseases are an important dilemma that needs more attention and funding in order to improve healthcare worldwide.

The Lecture that Peter Hotez presented on the rise of poverty related neglected diseases was eye-opening and intriguing. It was packed with information that I had never known and had changed my perspective on the way American organizations are handling global healthcare. Hotez introduced us to the previous eight global goals that had been published, in which three goals had involved healthcare improvement. One of the goals contained the idea of reducing HIV/AIDS, malaria, and “other diseases”. Hotez took it into his own hands to define the ambiguity within the statement: “other diseases”. He defined these diseases as tropical infections that were prevalent in poverty stricken communities. Hotez and his team then sought out ways to provide vaccinations to those in need in an efficient and cheap manner. Their team was able to fundraise over one billion dollars in order to research and act on the behalf of saving the lives of the poor from these infectious diseases. They were able to send large shipments of vaccines to non-healthcare professionals, such as teachers, to administer to people for only forty cents a person. This lead to an overall decrease in cases of almost every disease that a vaccine was provided for in these areas.

One way that plant life can be conserved strictly through ecology is that nature maintains a diverse, healthy environment. By maintaining a balanced environment, plants will obtain the nutrients and elements needed to complete their full life cycle and provide their benefits efficiently. Even in times of a natural disaster, plants will continue to produce the nutrients needed to sustain the environment. One way in which ecology cannot conserve plant life on it’s own is when human impact kills off populations of plants. Due to resource demand and growing architecture, forests are being destroyed. This wipes out hundreds of plant species at a time. Knowing all of the benefits plants have to nature, their absence affects multiple factors of the environment. Plants play an extremely important role in the balance of nature and it is important that we conserve their presence.

Personally, I believe that the most important aspect of the biological world that should be conserved is vegetation and plant life. Plant life sustains all of nature. Plants are a source of food, create oxygen, regulate the water cycle, are the backbone of all habitats, store carbon and maintain that help maintain the climate, and can be used to make medicines. Vegetation plays a large role in almost every aspect of nature. Without plant life, there would be a scarce amount of food for many other organisms. Without oxygen, organisms that depend on oxygen intake would not be able to survive. Without a regulated water cycle, water would not be as distributed along the land and would not be as present in the atmosphere due to the lack of transpiration. Without plants, the habitat would be barren and would lack food and shelter to many populations. Without plants storing carbon, there would be copious amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Without medicines, organisms (especially humans) would die off due to the lack of protection from diseases.