Stanley and Waterman

Dragonfly Surprise Case Handout

What if you had access to the dragonflies observed in this case and could breed them? What questions could you explore? What kinds of crosses would you make and why? What would count as evidence and why?

18 blue / 11 green
7 Males 11 Females / 7 Males 4 Females

Figure 2. A field collection of the 29 dragonflies from the case.

Getting Started with the Virtual Genetics Laboratory II Simulation

Downloads

We will use Virtual Genetics Laboratory II to explore the genetics of the dragonflies observed in the case.

1. First choose the one gene problem file Wing Colorfrom the schedule. Click on the link and the file will automatically go to your downloads folder unless you save it to the Desktop. (We recommend saving it to your Desktop.)

2. You will also need to download VGLII available for PC and Mac at:

Directions for the PC (Windows)

Next you will need to unzip the file. (Note: If you haven’t unzipped a file before, this is easy to do. Please ask for help if you have any questions.You can download free software such as WinRAR (see link on schedule) if you don’t have an application to unzip the file.

Once the file is unzipped, you will see the VGLII 3.2folder which will appear something like the screen below (shows VGLII 3.1.4). Double click the folder to open it.

Inside the VGLII folder you will see a file ending in exe. (Note: On a Mac, you will see a file ending in app.) Double click the file to start.

A new window opens up. In the menu at the top under File, chooseOpen Work.

You should then choose the Wing Color file ending in .wr2 that you selected from the workshop schedule and saved to your desktop.

The screen will show the field collection like this:

To cross two dragonflies, click on any male (turns blue) and any female (turns red) of your choice.

Choose CROSS (third from the right) on the Menu at the top of the page.

A new Cage will appear with the resulting offspring.

You can open Utilities from the Menu at the top to Cross two organisms or make a Super Cross to specify high numbers of offspring.

You can summarize your results for any cross by double clicking within the green box of one or more cages (if you have crossed the same parents more than once). The green box will turn red. Now choose Create Summary Chart under Utilities. This is helpful if you plan to do a Chi Square analysis to provide statistical significance for your data.

Chi Square Analysis

Online tool:

  1. Choose the kind of calculator you want to use - Categorical Data Hit Continue.
  2. Analyze categorical data - Chi-square Hit Continue.
  3. Compare Observed and expected frequencies Follow instructions on pageBottom of Form

Capturing Screenshots for your poster

You can capture a screenshot of results that you think are important by pressing Alt and Prt Scr at the same time. Then press Ctrl and V at the same timeto paste the screenshot into a Word document. This will be helpful for your poster presentation.

Digital Poster (Powerpoint Slide)

The product to be assessed at the end of the Dragonfly Surprise case will be a poster. The poster will represent your group, so please include your names after the title.

  • Title
  • Hypothesis
  • Description of experiment (Specific Crosses)
  • Data and data analysis
  • Inferences/ Conclusion

How will posters be made?

You will make your poster as a single PowerPoint slide, 42 cm high X 60 cm wide

This will be projected as a complete poster from which your group will present.

To set the dimensions, use “Page Set Up” within the “File” dropdown menu in Power Point.

Then build your slide by inserting text boxes, tables, images, etc. You can copy screenshots from VGL into your poster if you wish

Use font sizes no smaller than 20 and no larger than 40 points

A sans serif font, such as Arial, Calibri, Trebuchet or Verdana is easiest to read.

You can use color to highlight the text boxes, background, lines, fonts, etc.

Please DO NOT animate your slide. Remember, this is a poster, not a PowerPoint slideshow. We want to see all the information at once, just like one would see on a paper poster. Consequently, do NOT plan to leave the slide to go to other content (online, documents, etc.)

Please note that all of these electronic posters will be linked to the course website.

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