Based on what you know about Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, is this population experiencing evolution (a change in allele frequencies at this locus) ? Why or why not? If there is selection occurring, what kind do you think it is?

The Hardy-Weinberg law of equilibrium is an important way of verifying whether natural selection or other evolutionary factors are influencing a given population. Using the Hardy-Weinberg equation, we can determine the genetic configuration of a population that is not undergoing evolution. From this analysis, we can compare the data with the real information of the population and, thus, perceive whether or not there is evolution.

According to Hardy and Weinberg, a population that is not evolving has a constant frequency of alleles and genotypes from one generation to the next. In these cases, in which only recombination is observed according to Mendel's laws, we say that the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

The Hardy-Weinberg equation should be used to test whether or not a population is evolving. Considering that there are two alleles for a given locus, we will call the dominant allele (p) A, and the recessive allele (q) will be called a. Thus, p will be the allele frequency of A and q will be the frequency of a, so we will have to p + q = 1, since the sum of these two alleles will be equal to 100%.