Deck 13: How Populations Evolve

Question 1

Which statement is TRUE?

A)Natural selection works on variation already present in a population.
B)Natural selection works on non-heritable traits.
C)Individuals evolve through natural selection.
D)Individual organisms evolve structures that they need.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which statement about the voyage of the Beagle is TRUE?

A)Its purpose was to identify the fastest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
B)It lasted almost 2 years.
C)It turned into a tremendous opportunity for Darwin to collect fossils, plants, and animals.
D)It ended with the sinking of the ship off of the coast of Australia, almost 4 years into its journey.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which anatomical features are homologous?

A)the forelimb of a dog and the hindlimb of a cat
B)the forelimb of a dog and the forelimb of a cat
C)wings of a butterfly and wings of a sparrow
D)the mouth of a mosquito and the beak of a hummingbird

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which process can create new alleles?

A)natural selection
B)sexual reproduction
C)mutation
D)genetic drift

Question 5

Which is NOT a requirement of natural selection?

A)differential reproductive success
B)overproduction of offspring
C)genetic variation
D)gene flow

Question 6

The common house mouse species, Mus musculus, has the following taxonomic classification: Mus, Muridae, Rodentia, Mammalia, Chordata, Animalia, Eukarya. Which part of the name is the Family?

A)Rodentia
B)Chordata
C)Muridae
D)Animalia

Question 7

During his trip on the Beagle, Darwin found that ________.

A)plants and animals living in temperate regions were most similar to each other, regardless of the continent on which they were found
B)plants and animals living on a continent seemed more closely related to each other than to plants and animals living in similar regions on other continents
C)fossils found on a particular continent were clearly not related to the plants and animals living on that continent today
D)plants and animals were similar on every continent and in every type of region

Question 8

Which group of organisms is a population?

A)the termites infesting your house along with the microorganisms living in their guts
B)all of the termites that have ever lived
C)all organisms living in your house
D)the termites infesting your house (not including the microorganisms living in their guts)

Question 9

The total collection of alleles in a population at any one time makes up that population's ________.

A)gene pool
B)genotype
C)heterozygote frequency
D)allele frequency

Question 10

In The Origin of Species, Darwin argued that the mechanism of descent with modification was ________.

A)artificial selection
B)natural selection
C)bionomial nomenclature

Question 11

The first basic idea of evolutionary adaptation can be traced back to ________.

A)ancient Greeks about 2,500 years ago
B)Aristotle
C)Lamarck
D)Darwin

Question 12

Which is NOT a benefit of the understanding of evolution to understanding the field of biology?

A)Understanding evolution helps us to understand molecules.
B)Understanding evolution helps us to analyze ecosystems.
C)Understanding evolution helps advance biotechnology and medicine.
D)Understanding evolution helps us to understand why stars and galaxies change over time.

Question 13

While on the Beagle, Darwin's observations suggested that ________ is (are)a better predictor of relationships among organisms than ________.

A)geographic proximity; similarity of environment
B)evolutionary adaptations; similarity of environment
C)geological formations; geographic proximity
D)fossils; homologies

Question 14

Natural selection generally results in ________.

A)increased genetic variation
B)a population that is better adapted to a future environment
C)a population that is adapted to its current environment
D)an increase in the size of a population

Question 15

The similarity of the embryos of chickens and humans is evidence of ________.

A)artificial selection
B)common ancestry
C)genetic drift
D)decreased genetic variation

Question 16

Natural selection ________.

A)results in evolutionary adaptation
B)is a very rare phenomenon
C)does not affect allelic frequencies
D)prepares organisms for future changes in the environment

Question 17

Homology is evidence of ________.

A)binomial classification
B)artificial selection
C)natural selection
D)common ancestry

Question 18

Natural selection can be defined as ________.

A)the evolution of a population of organisms
B)a process in which changes in gene frequencies result from evolution
C)the production of more offspring than can survive in a given environment
D)a process in which organisms with certain inherited traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than individuals with other traits

Question 19

Which is a component of the fossil record?

A)the distribution of murid rodents in Australia and Asia
B)information about geological formations
C)bones of dinosaurs

Question 20

________ believed that species are fixed forms that do not change over time while ________ believed that evolution is the refinement of traits that equip organisms to perform successfully in their environments.

A)Aristotle; Lamarck
B)Lamarck; Aristotle
C)Darwin; Aristotle
D)Lamarck; Darwin

Question 21

A change in the gene pool due to chance results in ________.

A)natural selection
B)genetic drift
C)a large gene pool
D)environmental variation

Question 22

The founder effect differs from a population bottleneck in that the founder effect ________.

A)requires a small population
B)is a type of natural selection
C)can occur only on an oceanic island colony
D)involves the isolation of a small colony of individuals from a larger population

Question 23

After surviving a bottleneck, a population recovers to the point where it consists of as many individuals as it did prior to the bottleneck. Which statement is most likely to apply to this population?

A)The post-bottleneck population exhibits less genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.
B)The bottleneck subjected the pre-population to stabilizing selection.
C)The post-bottleneck population has less of a chance of going extinct than did the pre-bottleneck population.
D)The post-bottleneck population exhibits more genetic variation than the pre-bottleneck population.

Question 24

Which is a phenomenon that can result from directional selection?

A)There is an increase in the number of giraffes with long necks in areas of Africa where low-growing trees have died.
B)There is an increase in the number of different breeds of dog.
C)There is an increase in garter snakes with different coloration patterns found in backyard gardens.

Question 25

In the Hardy-Weinberg formula, what does p² represent?

A)frequency of heterozygotes
B)frequency of the recessive allele
C)frequency of the homozygotes for one allele

Question 26

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum)is a plant originating in Mexico that is used to produce rubber. Scientists used artificial selection to breed guayule with a relative plant from Utah, Parthenium ligulatum, and produced a hybrid plant that transferred cold tolerance to guayule. In this example, plant growth habits and leaf shape are components of ________ that enabled cold tolerance, and the transferability of these traits is an example of ________.

A)sexual reproduction; variation
B)variation; heritability
C)heritability; overproduction of offspring
D)genetic drift; taxonomy

Question 27

Disruptive selection can lead to ________.

A)a decrease in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria
B)an increase in the number of different breeds of dog
C)an increase in both large and small lobsters in comparison to medium-sized lobsters

Question 28

Years ago, farmers determined that suppressing flower development in the wild mustard plant gave rise to the plant we know as broccoli. This is an example of ________.

A)the bottleneck effect
B)artificial section
C)migration
D)disruptive selection

Question 29

The original source of genetic variation that serves as the raw material for evolution is ________.

A)mutation
B)gene flow
C)geographic isolation
D)random fertilization

Question 30

The presence of freckles is due to a dominant allele. Four percent of the individuals in a particular population lack freckles. Use the Hardy-Weinberg formula to calculate the percentage of individuals in this population who are homozygous dominant for freckles.

A)32%
B)4%
C)64%
D)80%

Question 31

________ introduced a system for grouping species into a hierarchy of categories.

A)Lamarck
B)Aristotle
C)Linnaeus
D)Darwin

Question 32

Which is a characteristic of a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

A)The population is subject to natural selection.
B)The population is not evolving.
C)Genetic drift is occurring.
D)Gene flow in and out of the population occurs.

Question 33

Which situation is most likely to decrease genetic variation?

A)directional selection
B)mutation
C)stabilizing selection
D)diversifying selection

Question 34

Which situation is an example of sexual selection?

A)Bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics.
B)Cheetahs experience a population bottleneck.
C)Peahens choose to mate with peacocks that have the brightest tails.
D)Female butterflies have a higher survival rate than male butterflies.

Question 35

Which phenomenon (or lack of)will prevent significant genetic drift?

A)Gene flow is absent.
B)There is genetic variation.
C)There is mutation.
D)The population size is large.

Question 36

What does evolutionary fitness measure?

A)physical health
B)longevity
C)relative reproductive success
D)population size

Question 37

Which result might be a consequence of stabilizing selection?

A)Infants born with weights between 3 and 4 kg have a higher survival than infants much lighter or heavier at birth.
B)There is an increase in antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
C)There is a decrease in the number of different breeds of dog.

Question 38

If the frequency of one allele in a population is 0.7 in a population with two alleles at a particular locus, what is the frequency of the alternate allele?

A)0)09
B)0)21
C)0)30
D)0)42

Question 39

In the Hardy-Weinberg formula, what does 2pq represent?

A)frequency of the dominant allele
B)frequency of heterozygotes
C)frequency of the recessive allele
D)frequency of the homozygous dominants

Question 40

Which explanation is most likely for a particular human population with a higher incidence of polydactyly (extra fingers/toes)than the human population as a whole?

A)directional selection
B)disruptive selection
C)founder effect
D)bottleneck effect

Question 41

Chytridiomycosis is a fungal disease first identified in 1998 as a cause of massive amphibian deaths. In some severely impacted populations, a few individuals have survived, perhaps because of some natural resistance. If these resistant individuals continue to survive and prosper, new resistant populations might emerge. This would be an example of ________.

A)genetic drift
B)natural selection
C)the founder effect
D)sexual selection

Question 42

Read the following scenario to answer the questions that follow.
In order to test the susceptibility of bacteria (if the bacteria are susceptible to being killed)to an antibiotic, a common laboratory test called the Bauer-Kirby Disk Diffusion test is used. First, a petri dish (a shallow, circular, transparent dish with a flat lid)is partially filled with nutrient-enriched agar (a gelatinous material). The nutrients encourage growth of specific bacterial species. The agar is poured as liquid but then typically solidifies to a soft consistency. Once the agar is set, a "lawn" of bacteria is spread such that a thin layer covers the top of the agar. Antibiotics are then applied to the lawn in a small dose, often through small, saturated paper disks. The dish is typically incubated for 24-48 hours and then observed for susceptibility. If the antibiotic is effective, it will kill the bacteria and leave a clear area called the "zone of inhibition" due to inhibited bacterial growth. The area starts at the source of the antibiotic and radiates outward. Scientists measure the diameter of the zone and then compare it to an established "cutoff value" for a zone specific to antibiotic/organism combinations. A large zone of inhibition in comparison to the standard indicates susceptibility while a small or no zone indicates resistance. Consider the following image, and answer the questions that follow:
What can you conclude about the susceptibility of the bacteria to the antibiotics?

A)The bacteria are more susceptible to antibiotic A than antibiotic C.
B)The bacteria are more susceptible to antibiotic D than antibiotic B.
C)The bacteria are more susceptible to antibiotic C than antibiotic E.
D)The bacteria are more susceptible to antibiotic D than antibiotic A.

Question 43

Examine the relationships between the elephants in the accompanying figure. Which pair is most closely related?

A)Deinotherium and Platybelodon
B)Barytherium and Stegodon
C)Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis
D)Mammut and Stegodon

Question 44

When most populations of a wide-ranging amphibian species are lost and the few remaining populations are widely separated, we expect to see that ________.

A)artificial selection becomes a greater factor in microevolution
B)the founder effect becomes increasingly important
C)gene flow between populations is reduced
D)microevolution no longer occurs

Question 45

In these observational studies, what would have served as a control experiment?

A)A population of finches with large beaks that faced excessive rainfall and high winds and were not able to feed normally.
B)A population of finches with small beaks that faced natural fires on the island and were not able to feed normally.
C)Populations of finches with small and large beaks that did not face drought and were able to feed normally.
D)Populations of a bird species genetically unrelated to finches that did not face drought and were able to feed normally.

Question 46

After 1 year of widely prescribed use, reports surface that bacterial infections disappear for up to 2 weeks after taking the FDA-approved antibiotic but then reappear, sometimes worse than the first time. Which explanation might the FDA use to defend their choice of antibiotic to treat the infection?

A)Patients are not taking the antibiotic for the length of time prescribed, and so selection for resistant bacteria that can survive a limited course of the antibiotic is occurring.
B)Stabilizing selection over the year has allowed for the bacteria to remain at a high level in patients' bodies.
C)Patients' bodies are evolving over the year to create environments that are friendly to the growth of the bacteria.
D)Sexual dimorphism allowed for larger bacteria cells to outcompete smaller ones, therefore enabling larger bacteria cells to continue to multiply.

Question 47

The accompanying figure shows the percent of selected DNA sequences that match between a chimpanzee and other primates. These data support the hypothesis that ________.

A)the chimpanzee's closest surviving relative is humans
B)chimpanzees and gibbons are the most closely related
C)orangutans are the primates least closely related to chimpanzees
D)Old World monkeys and gibbons are the most closely related

Question 48

Examine the evolutionary tree below. This tree tells us that the amnion is found in ________.

A)lungfishes and amphibians
B)amphibians only
C)mammals, lizards, and snakes only
D)mammals, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and birds

Question 49

The accompanying figure shows what happens in insect populations when crops are sprayed with insecticides. This is an example of ________.

A)natural selection
B)genetic drift
C)founder effect
D)gene flow

Question 50

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA)must decide which antibiotic to approve to fight a bacterial infection that results in high fevers and localized rashes. Which antibiotic do you predict that the FDA scientists will likely approve?

A)A because it has the smallest zone of inhibition.
B)C because it has the largest zone of inhibition
C)E because it has a zone of inhibition similar to A
D)F because it does not have a zone of inhibition

Question 51

Read the following scenario to answer the questions that follow.
Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant have been conducting observational research studies on finch species on Galápagos Island Daphne Major for over 40 years. The medium ground finch has a relatively small beak and a diet that consists primarily of small seeds. Large-beaked finches are able to eat larger seeds in addition to small ones. These two species successfully co-existed on the island for over 20 years, but two years of severe drought in 2003 and 2004 lead to intense competition between them because food supplies were destroyed in the drought. Numerous birds in both populations died from starvation. Interestingly, the Grants noticed that the smaller-beaked finches did not face the same degree of competitive pressure, because they could more easily eat the smaller seeds that were not being eaten by the larger finches. Only a short time later (2004-2005), the Grants observed that new populations of finches had more birds with smaller beaks than larger ones. As well, finches tended to seek out larger seeds half as often as in preceding years.
The Grants' data suggest that ________.

A)Directional selection is occurring in ground finch populations on Daphne Major.
B)Large-beaked finches are displaying relative fitness in ground finch populations on Daphne Major.
C)Stabilizing selection is occurring in ground finch populations on Daphne Major

Question 52

Read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
Over the past 60 years, many amphibian species have experienced significant population declines, and some species have become extinct. Scientists suspected that local human activities such as the destruction of wetlands, regional pollution, and deforestation were the main reasons for these losses. However, research over the past 20 years reveals significant amphibian population declines in protected areas of the world, such as nature preserves and parks. These global declines suggest widespread problems, including increased ultraviolet radiation, acid rain, and disease. In Switzerland, for example, 14 of the 20 native amphibian species are threatened with extinction.
Some biologists urge the collection of the few remaining individuals of some of the most threatened amphibian species in order to preserve them if they become extinct in the wild. If such captive-breeding programs could produce thousands of individuals from just a few of the remaining survivors, the species will still be threatened because of ________.

A)a bottleneck effect
B)directional selection
C)mutations
D)artificial selection