Deck 15: Modern Human Biology: Patterns of Adaptation

Question 1

Rickets is caused by

A)overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
B)too much vitamin D.
C)an insufficient amount of melanin.
D)too few melanocytes.
E)insufficient amounts of vitamin D.

Answer 1

insufficient amounts of vitamin D.

Question 2

Studies have shown that UV radiation rapidly depletes ______, which plays a crucial role in neural tube development of the embryo.

A)melanin
B)melanocytes
C)carotene
D)folate
E)omega 3

Answer 2

folate

Question 3

Hypoxia

A)is the reduced availability of oxygen.
B)occurs at lower  altitudes because the atmosphere contains less oxygen at sea level.
C)exerts no stress on humans.
D)is a problem for people living at sea level.
E)is closely related to dyslexia.

Answer 3

is the reduced availability of oxygen.

Question 4

Dark skin is advantageous in the tropics because it

A)protects from frostbite.
B)protects from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
C)helps prevent rickets.
D)promotes vitamin D synthesis.
E)increases the skin's exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Question 5

Adaptation is

A)seen only in nonhuman animals.
B)the same as acclimatization.
C)always temporary.
D)a genetic adjustment to environmental conditions.
E)a birth defect.

Question 6

Ultraviolet radiation can be an important factor in selection for increased melanin production because UV radiation can cause

A)rickets.
B)albinism.
C)skin cancer.
D)the destruction of foliage.
E)drought.

Question 7

Physiological methods of either producing or retaining body heat include

A)shivering.
B)a reduced metabolic rate.
C)vasodilation.
D)avoiding physical activity.
E)sweating.

Question 8

Mechanisms for radiating body heat include

A)increased production of red blood cells.
B)vasodilation.
C)vasoconstriction.
D)increased activity levels.
E)increased metabolic rate.

Question 9

Which is true of populations living at high altitudes compared to those living at sea level?

A)Low birth weights are more frequent at high altitudes.
B)Low birth weights are more frequent at low altitudes.
C)People produce fewer red blood cells at high altitudes.
D)Growth and maturation occur more rapidly at high altitudes.
E)Chest and lung size are reduced at higher altitudes.

Question 10

Which of the following absorbs ultraviolet radiation?

A)Carotene
B)Hemoglobin
C)Vitamin D
D)Melanin
E)Melanocytes

Question 11

Sweating

A)is a uniquely human ability.
B)has no detrimental effects.
C)is NOT an effective means of dissipating heat.
D)permits cooling through evaporation.
E)is an ability that varies from one human population to another.

Question 12

The folate hypothesis

A)contradicts the importance of the relationship between UV radiation and skin cancer.
B)purports to explain why dark skin is advantageous in high UV environments.
C)CANNOT explain why dark skin is advantageous in high UV environments.
D)explains why dark-skinned individuals often have rickets.
E)explains why leaves fall in autumn.

Question 13

Acclimatization refers to

A)long-term adaptations of species to certain environmental conditions.
B)an individual's short-term physiological responses to the environment.
C)the appearance of a new species.
D)slow genetic changes in populations.
E)migration.

Question 14

Bergmann's rule

A)states that a linear body with long arms and legs is optimal for cold climates.
B)concerns the relationship between climate and shape and size of appendages.
C)states that bodies with increased mass or volume to surface area are optimal for cold climates.
D)is based upon the principle that as arms increase in length, there is a corresponding increase in surface area.
E)is based on the principle that heat is retained at the body surface.

Question 15

Which of the following contributes most to skin color?

A)Hemoglobin
B)Melanin
C)Carotene
D)Vitamin D
E)Cold weather

Question 16

Biological systems are balanced systems maintained by the interaction of physiological mechanisms that compensate for both external and internal changes. Such a balanced system is in

A)hypoxia.
B)homeostasis.
C)heterostasis.
D)acclimatization.
E)polystasis.

Question 17

Vasodilation

A)reduces heat loss at the skin's surface.
B)can be caused by exposure to cold temperatures and can be inhibited by some drugs, even alcohol.
C)is the widening or opening up of capillaries, which in turn increases blood flow to the skin.
D)reduces libido.
E)is a myth.

Question 18

Stresses imposed by living at high altitudes include

A)reduced availability of oxygen.
B)reduced exposure to cold and wind.
C)greater nutritional base.
D)greater availability of oxygen.
E)deficiency of red blood cells.

Question 19

Melanocytes

A)are cells that produce carotene.
B)cause skin cancer.
C)only occur in dark-skinned individuals.
D)absorb ultraviolet radiation.
E)produce melanin.

Question 20

The vitamin D hypothesis

A)helps explain why dark-skinned populations are found near the equator.
B)has never been challenged.
C)cannot explain why light skin may be adaptive in low UV environments.
D)remains the primary hypothesis explaining why skin color lightened as populations moved out of Africa.
E)helped Pasteur to discover the process of homogenization

Question 21

Skeletal biologists who study disease and trauma in prehistoric remains are called

A)zoologists.
B)primatologists.
C)anthropologists.
D)paleopathologists.
E)medical historians.

Question 22

________ provides the best-documented example of evolution and adaptation in a pathogen.

A)Tuberculosis
B)Cholera
C)AIDS
D)Malaria
E)HIV

Question 23

___________ is the most common category of pathological conditions found in prehistoric remains.

A)Gastrointestinal disease
B)Heart disease
C)Impotence
D)Dental disease
E)Mental disease

Question 24

The most interesting fact about human skin color is that there appears to be no adaptive significance whatsoever to population-level variations in skin color.

Question 25

Infectious diseases

A)affect only children and infants.
B)are associated with aging.
C)are always fatal.
D)have had no evolutionary effects on humans.
E)are caused by microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria.

Question 26

Three different types of skeletal changes popular with bioarchaeologists attempting to reconstruct prehistoric activity patterns are

A)osteoarthritis, entheses, and caries.
B)entheses, osteoarthritis, and bone geometry.
C)bone geometry, osteoarthritis, and fractures.
D)bone geometry, entheses, and bone cancer.
E)entheses, osteoarthritis, and fractures.

Question 27

Which of the following provides the best-documented example of the evolutionary role of infectious disease in humans?

A)Bubonic plague
B)Malaria
C)Tuberculosis
D)Smallpox
E)Influenza

Question 28

When a disease is continuously present in a population, it is said to be

A)pandemic.
B)chronic.
C)epidemic.
D)lethal.
E)endemic.

Question 29

___________and nitrogen isotope analyses of human bone provide the most information about diet.

A)Unstable carbon
B)Stable ozone
C)Stable argon
D)Stable carbon
E)Unstable argon

Question 30

Fleas and mosquitoes sometimes transmit disease pathogens such as bacteria and viruses from one individual to another. Such agents (fleas and mosquitoes)are called

A)pathogens.
B)vectors.
C)pandemics.
D)endemics.
E)adjacents

Question 31

BCCs and SCCs tend to appear in middle age long after underlying genetic damage that occurred during childhood and adolescence.

Question 32

Paleopathologists also study trauma, which is found most typically in the form of

A)caries.
B)arthritis.
C)unhealed fractures.
D)healed fractures.
E)tendonitis.

Question 33

HIV attacks

A)all cells in the body.
B)liver cells.
C)red blood cells.
D)T4 cells.
E)T6 cells.

Question 34

AIDS is caused by

A)mosquito bites.
B)a bacterium.
C)a mutation on a cell's receptor site.
D)a virus.
E)poor living conditions.

Question 35

Recent evidence does NOT suggest that

A)HIV is closely related to SIV.
B)HIV was initially transmitted to humans from primates with a similar disease.
C)HIV has two main forms, HIV-1 and HIV-2.
D)SIV has a long evolutionary history in monkeys.
E)HIV is not as harmful as we used to believe.

Question 36

Developmental acclimatization occurs in high-altitude natives during growth and development.

Question 37

Skeletal biologists are very much interested in learning how prehistoric peoples behaved and how numerous behaviors influenced their health. In the last two decades, many skeletal experts have identified this approach with the term

A)bioarchaeology.
B)bioanarchy.
C)prehistoric biology.
D)paleobiology.
E)paleoanthrobiology.

Question 38

One "marker" of an agricultural lifestyle is the high frequency of

A)smallpox.
B)country concerts.
C)caries.
D)cholera.
E)AIDS.

Question 39

Of the three types of skin cells found in the epidermis, only melanocytes are susceptible to cancerous changes.

Question 40

Adaptations refer to short-term physiological responses to stress.

Question 41

What are the various physiological mechanisms for reducing heat stress?

Question 42

What are neural tube defects, and how might they affect reproductive fitness?

Question 43

Metabolic diseases such as rickets are most severe when they affect children during development.

Question 44

It is possible that during its long history, smallpox may have altered the frequency of the ABO blood types by selecting against the A allele.

Question 45

Discuss two physiological challenges faced by populations that live at high altitudes.

Question 46

Hypoxia results from reduced barometric pressure.

Question 47

Give detailed examples of temporary and developmental acclimatization in human populations.

Question 48

Define homeostasis.

Question 49

The prevalence of preeclampsia in women living at elevations over 10,000 feet is higher than those living at lower elevations.

Question 50

Bergmann's rule concerns the shape of the body, especially the appendages.

Question 51

Many physical anthropologists concentrate on the study of human skeletons found in prehistoric archaeological contexts.

Question 52

Define vasoconstriction, and describe its role in the human physiological response to cold.

Question 53

Skeletal biologists are limited to studying the mechanics of skeletal changes caused by physical activity.

Question 54

What does the term zoonotic disease mean?

Question 55

An endemic disease is more likely to occur in small bands of hunter-gatherers.

Question 56

The oldest evidence of human infection by HIV is an HIV-positive blood sample taken from a West African patient in 1959.

Question 57

What is the nature of the evidence suggesting that HIV was initially transmitted to humans from nonhuman primates?

Question 58

Zoonotic diseases are transmitted to humans by contact with contaminated water.

Question 59

What is the physiological role of vitamin D? What are the dietary and nondietary sources of Vitamin D?

Question 60

Mortality due to infectious diseases has decreased in recent years in the United States.

Question 61

What is the adaptive value of dark skin tones in equatorial regions such as Africa? If all humans are ultimately from Africa, what hypothesis has been offered to explain why skin tones lightened as humans came to occupy more northern latitudes?

Question 62

Discuss three factors that are contributing to the reemergence of infectious diseases that used to be close to extinction.

Question 63

Your text indicates that HIV provides the best-documented example of evolution and adaptation of a pathogen. Why is this so?

Question 64

How did the adoption of a settled lifestyle affect patterns of infectious disease in human populations?

Question 65

Explain how bioarchaeology can help us reconstruct activity patterns of ancient peoples.

Question 66

Explain how making the move from a nomadic hunting lifestyle to a more sedentary community lifestyle increased the opportunity for diseases to become endemic and more widespread.

Question 67

Name and describe one of the most infectious diseases that paleopathologists have been able to document in prehistoric remains.

Question 68

Describe the different techniques used by skeletal biologists to determine the type of diets of our ancestors.

Question 69

Outline the general principles of Bergmann's and Allen's rules. Can we use these rules to explain human phenotypic variation at the level of the population? Support your answer with examples.

Question 70

Discuss the relation of dental caries and the emergence of agriculture