Deck 32: Evolving Life

Question 1

Cladistic analysis may involve the comparison of

A) morphology.
B) DNA.
C) shared characteristics.
D) reproductive features.
E) None of the above is correct.

Answer 1

shared characteristics.

Question 2

Which of the following groups is the most abundant in the world?

A) Vertebrates
B) Fungi
C) Protozoa
D) Insects
E) Plants

Answer 2

Insects

Question 3

When constructing a cladogram, which of the following is considered most important?

A) Analogous characteristics
B) Homologous characteristics
C) Overall phenotypic similarity
D) Comparative embryology
E) Gene homology

Answer 3

Homologous characteristics

Question 4

Echidnas, wombats and ghost bats have hair and suckle their young with milk from mammary glands, and these characteristics distinguish them from other amniotes, including their ancestors, early reptiles. Wombats and ghost bats have separate anal and urogenital openings, and mammary glands with teats. Wombat young are born at an early embryonic stage and complete their development attached to teats inside a protective pouch.
In constructing a phylogeny for wombats, echidnas and ghost bats, having hair would be considered a

A) plesiomorphic character.
B) apomorphic character.
C) synapomorphic character.
D) autapomorphic character.
E) phylogenetic character.

Question 5

Echidnas, wombats and ghost bats have hair and suckle their young with milk from mammary glands, and these characteristics distinguish them from other amniotes, including their ancestors, early reptiles. Wombats and ghost bats have separate anal and urogenital openings, and mammary glands with teats. Wombat young are born at an early embryonic stage and complete their development attached to teats inside a protective pouch.
When determining the evolutionary relationship between wombats and ghost bats, the teats and pouches of wombats would both be considered

A) plesiomorphic characters.
B) apomorphic characters.
C) synapomorphic characters.
D) autapomorphic characters.
E) phylogenetic character.

Question 6

Both cephalopod molluscs and vertebrates have remarkably similar eyes. This is an example of

A) convergence.
B) divergence.
C) homology.
D) phylogeny.
E) heterology.

Question 7

Which of the following pairs could be considered both analogous and homologous?

A) The wings of bats and butterflies.
B) The pectoral flippers of seals and dolphins.
C) The pectoral flippers of seals and the wings of bats.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the answers are correct.

Question 8

Both moles (mammals) and mole crickets (insects) are burrowing animals. They dig with robust forelimbs, which are in both, relatively short, broad and somewhat flattened. Because of these similarities in structure and function, the forelimbs of moles and mole crickets are

A) vestigial structures.
B) homologous structures.
C) analogous structures.
D) apomorphic structures.
E) heterologous structures.

Question 9

Which of the following techniques is likely to be used in constructing a phylogenetic tree?

A) Examination of DNA-DNA hybridisation data
B) Comparison of ectoparasites
C) Comparison of chromosome structure and banding patterns
D) Comparative morphology
E) All of the answers are correct

Question 10

Which of the following statements about the construction of phylogenetic trees from molecular data is true?

A) Organisms with similar enzymes are probably closely related.
B) All organisms share identical coding sequences for each amino acid.
C) The sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide can be used to construct a phylogenetic tree.
D) Analysis of the amino acid sequence may be used to confirm parallel evolution of species.
E) Knowledge of the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide is only useful when comparing organisms with morphological homologies.

Question 11

The most highly conserved sequences of DNA in eukaryotic organisms are found within particular sections of

A) mitochondrial DNA.
B) neutral DNA.
C) nuclear DNA.
D) chloroplast DNA.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 12

Studies reconstructing the phylogenetic history of all living organisms rely on comparisons of nucleotide sequences in

A) rapidly evolving sections of DNA.
B) highly conserved regions of DNA.
C) non-coding regions of DNA.
D) mitochondrial DNA.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 13

The most reliable information for constructing the phylogeny of a group of closely related species would come from sequencing

A) rapidly evolving sections of DNA.
B) highly conserved regions of DNA.
C) non-coding regions of DNA.
D) mitochondrial DNA.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 14

Mitochondrial DNA is suitable for tracing the evolutionary history of closely related species because it

A) has a highly conserved gene order.
B) is more easily sequenced than nuclear DNA.
C) accumulates transition mutations quickly.
D) accumulates transversion mutations slowly.
E) is single stranded and so easier to sequence.

Question 15

The following table shows the bases at six positions in a region of nuclear DNA from five genera of ferns. A, B, C and D are genera within the Family Blechnaceae whereas E is from the Family Dicksoniaceae.
Base position 41 52 63 69 75 96
Genus A T G A C A C
Genus B C A A C G C
Genus C T G A C G T
Genus D C G A C G C
Genus E C A A T G C
The change (base substitution) at base position 52 is a synapomorphic character for genera

A) A and C only.
B) A, C and D only.
C) A, B, C and D only.
D) B and E only.
E) A and D only.

Question 16

Taxonomy refers to the

A) study of related subgroups.
B) tracing of ancestral lineages.
C) construction of family trees.
D) the relatedness of organisms.
E) classification of organisms.

Question 17

A new species of rainforest tree, with orange berries and hairy leaves, is discovered in Queensland. The berries are found to contain a compound with potent antifungal properties but the plant is rare and endangered. Where would you look first for a more abundant source of this compound?

A) Other rainforest plants with orange berries.
B) Other plants in the same family.
C) Other plants in the same genus.
D) Plants growing in similar climates.
E) Other plants in the same area.

Question 18

In the Linnaean hierarchy, which of the following taxonomic ranks includes all the others?

A) Phylum
B) Family
C) Order
D) Class
E) Genus

Question 19

All of the following are correct taxa for the Slippery Jack. It looks tasty, but it could also be poisonous! Knowing that Slippery Jacks belonged to which of the following would enable you gain the most information about this particular organism, from a search of the scientific literature?

A) Phylum Basidiomycota.
B) Genus Suillus.
C) Order Agaricales.
D) Family Boletaceae.
E) Kingdom Plantae.

Question 20

A paraphyletic taxon includes

A) all of the descendants of a common ancestor.
B) organisms descended from several evolutionary lineages.
C) only some of the descendants of a common ancestor.
D) organisms that do not share a common ancestor.
E) species with similar morphology rather than a common ancestor.

Question 21

A group of organisms that are morphologically similar but descended from two or more ancestral forms, is known as a

A) monophyletic group.
B) polyphyletic group.
C) paraphyletic group.
D) homologous group.
E) heterologous group.

Question 22

Which of the following taxa are monophyletic?

A) 1 only.
B) 2 only.
C) 3 only.
D) 1 and 3 only.
E) 2 and 3 only.

Question 23

According to the rules of scientific nomenclature, which of the following is the correctly written binomial for the surf barnacle?

A) Catomerus Polymerus
B) catomerus Polymerus
C) catomerus polymerus
D) Catomerus polymerus
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 24

The following is a list of Australian frog species.
Scientific name Common name Family
Heleioporus inornatus Brown Burrowing Frog Leptodactylidae
Litoria caerulea Green Tree Frog Hylidae
Cophixalus ornatus Ornate Forest Frog Microhylidae
Microhylidae Ornate Burrowing Frog Leptodactylidae
Litoria peronii Peron's Tree Frog Hylidae
Neobatrachus pictus Spotted Burrowing Frog Leptodactylidae
Limnodynastes peronii Striped Marsh Frog Leptodactylidae
Which of the following pairs of species is most closely related?

A) The Ornate Burrowing Frog and the Spotted Burrowing Frog.
B) The Striped Marsh Frog and Peron's Tree Frog.
C) The Ornate Burrowing Frog and the Striped Marsh Frog.
D) Peron's Tree Frog and the Ornate Forest Frog.
E) The Ornate Burrow Frog and Peron's Tree Frog.

Question 25

A biological species

A) consists of groups of interbreeding natural populations.
B) is reproductively isolated from other groups.
C) cannot form fertile hybrids.
D) undergo only sexual reproduction.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 26

The biological species concept cannot be used to distinguish among species in organisms

A) that are known only from the fossil record.
B) that have different forms during their lifecycles.
C) that are morphologically similar.
D) where the males and females have different morphological characteristics.
E) when the young of the species has a different phenotype to the adult.

Question 27

In practice, the biological species concept cannot be used to reliably distinguish all species because

A) some 'species' form fertile hybrids.
B) some 'species' do not reproduce sexually.
C) subgroups within a particular 'species' may interbreed with some, but not all, others.
D) All of these are correct.
E) None are correct as a species is well defined.

Question 28

Which of the following statements about classification schemes for the major groups of cellular life is true?

A) The Domain Eukarya consists of the Kingdoms Animalia, Plantae, Fungi and some of the Protista.
B) The Kingdom Monera, in the five-kingdom classification, is equivalent to the Kingdoms Eubacteria and Archaeobacteria, in the six-kingdom classification.
C) The Domain Archaea includes the Kingdoms Archaeobacteria and Eubacteria.
D) The domain Eukarya includes the Kingdoms of Protists, Archaea, Fungi and Animalia.
E) The three-domain classification scheme is the oldest system of classification.

Question 29

Vestigial organs

A) indicate a common inheritance.
B) arise through convergent evolution.
C) arise through coevolution.
D) are small organs with no apparent function.
E) are misleading in the search for phylogeny.

Question 30

A cladogram

A) shows the evolutionary relationship between all organisms.
B) indicates the relationship between organisms based on comparison of features.
C) shows which characteristics animals share.
D) is an analysis of the function of specific related genes of organisms.
E) is a tree based on the relatedness of the genes of organisms.

Question 31

Homologous structures are all of the following EXCEPT

A) They have the same basic plan, but not necessarily the same function in different organism.
B) They are indicators of common inheritance.
C) They lead to the identification of phylogenetic relatedness.
D) They allow us to recognise that humans and turtles are related.
E) They result from convergent evolution.

Question 32

Synapomorphies are

A) features of animals on a branch of a cladogram.
B) unique characteristics of an organism.
C) homologous genes of organisms on a branch of a phylogenetic tree.
D) shared advanced characteristics of organisms.
E) primitive characteristics which define a branch of a cladogram.

Question 33

Comparative study of DNA or proteins from different species often demonstrates different relatedness of organisms that a study of morphology. This is because

A) some organisms may be related, but have no morphological similarity.
B) all proteins from a similar DNA sequence have the same function.
C) chloroplast DNA more accurately demonstrates the relatedness of plants as it has changed little with evolution.
D) point mutations in DNA may lead to very different organisms being produced.
E) most organisms have similar genes, so small changes in sequence have large morphological effects

Question 34

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

A) Highly conserved genes, such as the DNA of mitochondrial DNA, are useful for studying primitive relationships between organisms.
B) The stability of DNA is the basis for studying the evolutionary relatedness of organisms.
C) Regions of DNA where base substitutions accumulate rapidly are useful for studying the phylogeny of closely related organisms.
D) As the DNA mutation rate is constant, DNA analysis provides more accurate information on relatedness of organisms than morphology.
E) Nuclear genes such as ribosomal DNA are constant and so are no use in examining relatedness of organisms.

Question 35

Monophyletic taxa are groups of animals

A) that arose from a common ancestor.
B) that arise from a common branch point on a phylogenetic tree.
C) with similar morphology.
D) which contain homologous genes.
E) that are in the same Family.

Question 36

Early nucleotide sequencing analysis comparing humans with other organisms was done with mtDNA. The entire mtDNA genome of humans consists of how many genes?

A) 19,000
B) 1,300
C) 200
D) 37
E) 12

Question 37

An evolutionary scientist wants to investigate the phylogenetic comparison between two different species of plants. What approach should the scientist NOT use to do this?

A) cpDNA
B) mtDNA
C) gDNA
D) rRNA
E) cDNA

Question 38

Which one of the following plants has NOT had its entire cpDNA genomes sequenced?

A) Some algae
B) Maize
C) Cyclamen
D) Oranges
E) Blue gum

Question 39

A phylogenetic tree contains three different species. Species one is found to have many plesiomorphic characters, species two has many apomorphic characters and species thee has a combination of both. The order of these species on a cladogram from bottom to top would be

A) one, three, two.
B) one, two, three.
C) three, one, two.
D) two, three, one.
E) three, two, one.

Question 40

Different parts of organisms that have the same evolutionary origin are referred to as

A) analagous.
B) paralagous.
C) orthologous.
D) homologous.
E) endologous.

Question 41

A newly discovered species of mammal is found to have a unique jaw structure and teeth formation. These are examples of what type of characters?

A) Synapomorphies
B) Homapomorphies
C) Plesiomorphies
D) Autapomorphies
E) Cladiomorphies

Question 42

A scientist is studying the relative age of divergence of two plants, using a gene encoding for an important sub-unit of photosystem II. He finds that the two plants have 20 nucleotide differences. He then comparatively studies the same gene from two more plants and finds they have only 2 nucleotide differences. The two earlier plants therefore have a common ancestor that is how many times older than the second two?

A) Two times older
B) Five times older
C) Twenty times older
D) There is insufficient evidence to determine how much older the first pair of plants is
E) Ten times older

Question 43

Which of the following rank orders of taxa is correct?

A) Species, genus, order
B) Genus, family, order
C) Phylum, order, class
D) Family, class, order
E) Kingdom, family, phylum

Question 44

Two different species of bacteria have long been placed in the same clade in a phylogenetic tree. However, this placement is based on morphological and physiological similarities. How would a scientist determine if these bacteria actually share a common ancestor, or have shared traits due to convergent evolution and are therefore a polyphyletic group?

A) Chromatography
B) Glycoprotein similarities
C) gDNA sequence analysis
D) UV microscopy
E) cpDNA or mtDNA sequence analysis