Pelvic Evolution in Sticklebacks

This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study that used SNP genotyping to identify the mutations that result in morphological differences in stickleback fish.

Threespine stickleback fish from marine populations usually have a pelvis with protective spines. Some freshwater sticklebacks, however, either partially or completely lack a pelvis. In this study, scientists investigated the mutations behind these morphological differences using SNP genotyping. Panel A of the figure shows SNP genotyping results for nine stickleback populations with reduced or absent pelvises. The scientists used these data to estimate the locations of deletion mutations in each population. Panel B shows the sources of each population.

The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.