Deck 18: The Evidence for Evolution

Question 1

A new plant species is introduced to Daphne Major and produces small, thin seeds. This plant species is highly adapted to drought and after 5 years has replaced over 80% of the native plants that produce large seeds. How will this change affect the evolution of beak size in the medium ground finch population?

A) Large beaks will be favored in wet years and small beaks will be favored in dry years.
B) Large beaks will be favored under all rainfall conditions.
C) Small beaks will be favored in wet years and large beaks will be favored in dry years.
D) Small beaks will be favored under all rainfall conditions.

Answer 1

Small beaks will be favored under all rainfall conditions.

Question 2

A new plant species is introduced to Daphne Major and produces small, thin seeds. This plant species is highly adapted to drought and after 5 years has replaced over 80% of the native plants that produce large seeds. How will this change affect the evolution of beak size in the medium ground finch population?

A) Considerable variation existed in the beak size and shape of this finch.
B) The medium ground finch showed assortative mating according to beak size and shape.
C) Beak shape (depth) varied with the dryness of the year.
D) Offspring were similar to parents in beak size and shape.

Answer 2

Considerable variation existed in the beak size and shape of this finch.
Beak shape (depth) varied with the dryness of the year.
Offspring were similar to parents in beak size and shape.

Question 3

Which aspect(s) of natural selection is(are) illustrated by the figure below (21.2b)? Check all that apply.

A) Variation must exist in the population.
B) Variation among individuals must be genetically transmissible to the next generation.
C) Variation among individuals leads to differences in lifetime reproductive success.
D) More individuals are produced each generation than the environment can support, resulting in competition for survival.

Answer 3

Variation must exist in the population.
Variation among individuals must be genetically transmissible to the next generation.

Question 4

Industrial melanism involving the peppered moths (Biston sp.) is cited as an example of natural selection that has been observed in the last one hundred years. Recall that the peppered moth exhibits two distinct morphological types with dark and light colored wings. Which of the following statements about changes in these two types of moths as a result of industrial melanism is true?

A) The dark forms are selected against in nonpolluted forests.
B) The dark forms are distasteful to birds and are thus safe in polluted forests.
C) The light forms are selected against in nonpolluted forests.
D) Birds prey more on the dark forms in polluted forests
E) Dark forms emigrate from nonpolluted forests to polluted forests.

Question 5

In a hypothetical study, equal numbers of marked dark and light moths are released in polluted and unpolluted woodlands and recaptured 10 days later. According to the industrial melanism hypothesis, which of the following results is unexpected?

A) More marked dark moths should be recaptured in polluted woodlands than in unpolluted woodlands.
B) Fewer marked light moths should be recaptured in polluted woodlands than in unpolluted woodlands.
C) Fewer marked dark moths should be recaptured in unpolluted woodlands than in polluted woodlands.
D) More marked light moths should be recaptured in unpolluted woodlands than in polluted woodlands.
E) Fewer unmarked dark moths should be captured in polluted woodlands than unmarked light moths.

Question 6

Domestication of dogs has led to

A) a variety of phenotypes.
B) different species.
C) reproductively isolated breeds.
D) convergent evolution.
E) a variety of vestigial structures.

Question 7

The figure below shows results of bristle number in Drosophila flies after 35 generations of artificial selection. This figure suggests that

A) bristle number has evolved beyond the original range of phenotypic variation for this trait.
B) after 35 generations of selection, populations no longer exhibit variation in bristle number.
C) natural selection cannot lead to large phenotypic changes.
D) at the end of the experiment, "high population" flies were unable to interbreed with "low population" flies.

Question 8

Considerably more phenotypic variation exists in domesticated varieties of species like dogs and cabbages than exists in non-domesticated species like lions and maple trees. Which one of the following statements best explains why this is true?

A) There is no selection and mating is random under domestication.
B) During domestication, very high rates of mutation are induced.
C) Genetic drift is important because domestication involves small populations.
D) Many domesticated varieties would not survive in the natural world.
E) Domesticated species exhibit "hybrid vigor" (heterosis).

Question 9

Radioactive isotopes are used in dating materials from the distant past. Which of the following statements about radioactive dating techniques is true?

A) It gives the general ages of rock strata. ( million years).
B) It gives exact ages of rock strata. (11ef16c6_73f4_71c2_9fae_752220dd251b_TB10957_11 1 year).
C) It uses a technique in which the degree of radioactive decay is measured, the younger the rock the more radioactive decay.
D) It uses a technique in which the degree of radioactive decay is measured, the older the rock the more radioactive decay.
E) It does not work well with fossil remains that have not absorbed radiation.

Question 10

Choose the true statement(s) about the evolutionary divergence of horses in North America. Check all that apply.

A) Most changes are seen as adaptations for life in grassland habitats.
B) The general trends during horse evolution are increase in body size, lengthening of limbs, reduction of digits on both sets of limbs, and tooth development for a grazing life style.
C) Horse evolution is unusual in that rates of change were uniform and constant throughout most lineages.
D) Living lineages of horses show much less diversity than existed in the past.

Question 11

The size and shape of a finch's beak correlates with it's ______.

A) choice of mates
B) choice of food
C) habitat
D) size

Question 12

Flamingo beaks are upside down, forcing them to feed by putting their heads upside down in the water. The beak of a flamingo is an example of which of the following?

A) Structures that are not ideally suited to their purpose.
B) Vestigial structures.
C) Extinct structures.
D) Homologous structures.
E) Structures that follow a common developmental pattern.

Question 13

You would predict to see the fewest amino acid sequence substitutions in a protein between a human and a ____.

A) snake
B) bird
C) fish
D) bacterium
E) frog

Question 14

During development in the mother's uterus, human embryos have pharyngeal pouches (sometimes called gill slits) that later develop into various glands. Fish also have pharyngeal pouches as embryos, but these develop into gills. The best explanation for why human and fish embryos develop pharyngeal pouches is

A) humans and fish share a common ancestor that had gills.
B) human embryos need gill slits to breathe in the uterus.
C) humans and fish both develop pharyngeal pouches by random chance.
D) fish evolved from humans.