Question 1

Shared derived traits are also known as
A) synapomorphies.
B) homoplasies.
C) sympatries.
D) homologies.
E) paraphylies.

Accepted Answer

Shared derived traits are unique characteristics that are present in a group of organisms due to their common ancestry. Synapomorphies are the shared derived traits that define a particular clade or group of organisms.

Question 2

The common ancestor of humans and the other "great apes" walked on all fours,whereas humans are bipeds.Bipedalism is thus the _______ trait.
A) ancestral
B) homoplasic
C) synapomorphic
D) derived
E) monophyletic

Accepted Answer

Bipedalism is a derived trait in humans that evolved after the common ancestor with other great apes. Ancestral traits are present in both the common ancestor and its descendants, whereas derived traits are unique to certain lineages. Homoplasic traits arise independently in different lineages, and synapomorphic traits are shared by a group of organisms due to their common ancestry. Monophyletic refers to a group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all of its descendants.

Question 3

Which of the following features can never be homologous?
A) DNA sequences
B) Anatomical structures
C) Inherited behavioral patterns
D) Secondary structures of proteins
E) All of the above can be homologous features.

Accepted Answer

All of the listed features can be homologous, as they can share a common evolutionary origin.

Question 4

The evolutionary relationship among organisms is known as
A) taxonomy.
B) phylogeny.
C) paraphyly.
D) synapomorphy.
E) homoplasy.

Accepted Answer

The term used to describe the evolutionary relationships among organisms is phylogeny. Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing, and classifying species, while paraphyly refers to a group of organisms that does not include all of the descendants of a common ancestor. Synapomorphy is a shared derived trait that is present in two or more taxa and originated in their most recent common ancestor. Homoplasy refers to the independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages, often due to convergent evolution or evolutionary reversal.

Question 5

Use the following to answer questions :
Refer to the figure below. 
-About when did the common ancestor of humans,chimpanzees,gorillas,and orangutans last exist?
A) 5 million years ago
B) 7.5 million years ago
C) 10 million years ago
D) 12.5 million years ago
E) 20 million years ago

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions :
Refer...

Question 6

Which statement about systematics is true?
A) All homoplastic traits are due to convergent evolution.
B) All homologous traits are homoplasies.
C) All synapomorphies are derived traits.
D) All derived traits are synapomorphies.
E) All homoplasies are homologous traits.

Accepted Answer

Synapomorphies are traits that are shared by a group of organisms and their common ancestor, and are thus derived traits. Not all derived traits, however, are synapomorphies.

Question 7

Which statement about red fluorescent pigments is true?
A) They are easier to synthesize than other pigments.
B) They existed in the ancestor of present-day corals.
C) They evolved in a single step from green pigments.
D) They do not penetrate tissues as well as green pigments do.
E) They are found naturally in some corals.

Accepted Answer

The statement that is true about red fluorescent pigments is that they are found naturally in some corals.

Question 8

The wasp genus Nasonia contains all of the descendants of the members' common ancestor.This genus therefore would be called
A) a synapomorphy.
B) a polyphyly.
C) parsimonious.
D) a clade.
E) rooted.

Accepted Answer

The fact that the wasp genus Nasonia contains all the descendants of the members' common ancestor means that it is a clade. A clade is a group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all of its descendants.

Question 9

Humans and African apes (chimpanzees,bonobos,and gorillas)share traits such as elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth,which other more distantly related species do not have.These characteristics are called
A) homoplasies.
B) synapomorphies.
C) cladistics.
D) parsimonies.
E) evolutionary reversals.

Accepted Answer

Synapomorphies are shared derived characteristics, meaning they are traits that evolved in a common ancestor and were passed down to its descendants. The elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth are examples of synapomorphies between humans and African apes, indicating a close evolutionary relationship. Homoplasies are traits that evolved independently in different lineages and do not indicate a close evolutionary relationship, while cladistics and parsimonies are methods for constructing evolutionary trees based on shared characteristics. Evolutionary reversals refer to the re-evolution of a ancestral trait that had been lost in a lineage, which is not the case with the traits shared between humans and African apes.

Question 10

Which statement about phylogenies is true?
A) Taxa cannot be placed within other taxa.
B) Rotating lineages around nodes changes the meaning of the information contained within the phylogenetic tree.
C) The evolutionary distance between clades can be determined by examining the vertical distance between them.
D) Any group of species that we designate with a name is a clade.
E) None of the above

Accepted Answer

None of the statements A, B, C, or D are true. Taxa can be nested within other taxa, rotating lineages around nodes does not change the meaning, evolutionary distance is not determined by vertical distance, and not all named groups are clades.

Question 11

Use the following to answer questions :
Refer to the figure below. 
-How long ago did the lineage leading to humans and chimpanzees diverge from the lineage leading to gorillas?
A) 1 million years ago
B) 3 million years ago
C) 5 million years ago
D) 7 million years ago
E) 12 million years ago

Accepted Answer

The lineage leading to humans and chimpanzees diverged from the lineage leading to gorillas approximately 7 million years ago.

Question 12

The common ancestor of all of the species displayed in a phylogenetic tree lies at the _______ of the tree.
A) node
B) taxon
C) tip
D) root
E) twig

Accepted Answer

The root of a phylogenetic tree represents the common ancestor of all of the species displayed in the tree. The nodes represent points where ancestral lineages diverged and gave rise to new species, while the tips or terminals represent the extant species being studied. Twigs are the smallest branches on the tree and represent individual species or populations. Taxa is just a general term for any group of organisms being studied or compared.

Question 13

Drosophila yakuba and D.santomea are the closest relatives to each other.Therefore,they are considered _______ species.
A) rooted
B) sister
C) homologous
D) daughter
E) parapyletic

Accepted Answer

Drosophila yakuba and D.santomea are the closest relatives to each other, so they form a sister species pair.

Question 14

What is formed when any two branches diverge in a phylogenetic tree?
A) A node
B) A lineage
C) A population
D) A root
E) A module

Accepted Answer

A node is formed when any two branches diverge in a phylogenetic tree, representing a common ancestor from which the branches evolved.

Question 15

Snakes,which lack limbs,evolved from vertebrates that had legs.The limbs of snakes disappeared by _______ and the backbones of snakes are a _______.
A) convergent evolution;synapomorphy
B) an evolutionary reversal;synapomorphy
C) convergent evolution;homoplastic trait
D) an evolutionary reversal;homoplastic trait
E) an evolutionary reversal;heteroplastic trait

Accepted Answer

The answer of Snakes,which lack limbs,evolved from vertebrates that had...

Question 16

The antifreeze proteins found in fish that live in very cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic have evolved independently,not because of shared ancestry.Based on this information,which statement is true?
A) The antifreeze proteins in Arctic and Antarctic fish are homologous.
B) The antifreeze proteins in Arctic and Antarctic fish are homoplasies.
C) The Arctic and Antarctic fish form a clade.
D) The antifreeze proteins evolved by evolutionary reversals.
E) Convergent evolution does not occur for antifreeze proteins.

Accepted Answer

Since the antifreeze proteins in Arctic and Antarctic fish have evolved independently, they are not homologous (which would mean they were derived from a shared ancestor) but rather homoplasies (which means they have similar structures and functions but evolved separately).

Question 17

Matz's discovery of coral proteins that fluoresce in red light was a valuable extension of the Noble Prize-winning work that produced green fluorescent protein because
A) a red pigment degrades much more slowly than a green pigment does.
B) unlike green light,red light does not penetrate tissues.
C) red light penetrates tissues more readily than green light does.
D) red pigment attracts jellyfish.
E) red pigment repels jellyfish.

Accepted Answer

The advantage of red fluorescent protein over green fluorescent protein is that red light penetrates tissues more readily than green light does.

Question 18

Use the following to answer questions :
Refer to the figure below. 
-Not counting the root,how many nodes are present?
A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
E) 4

Accepted Answer

The figure shows two nodes besides the root node.

Question 19

As adaptations for flight,the wings of bats and the wings of birds are an example of
A) a synapomorphy.
B) evolutionary reversal.
C) a monophyly.
D) a paraphyly.
E) convergent evolution.

Accepted Answer

The wings of bats and the wings of birds are an example of convergent evolution, where two distantly related species evolve similar structures or traits in response to similar environmental pressures, in this case, the adaptation for flight. This is not a synapomorphy as it is not a shared derived trait in a common ancestor, nor an evolutionary reversal, as both bats and birds evolved flight independently from their ancestors. Monophyly and paraphyly refer to groupings based on evolutionary relationships, and are not relevant to this question.

Question 20

The study and classification of biodiversity is called
A) homology.
B) homoplasy.
C) systematics.
D) phylogeny.
E) synapomorphy.

Accepted Answer

Systematics is the scientific study of biological diversity and the evolutionary relationships among organisms, including classification, evolutionary history, and nomenclature. Homology refers to the similarity of different organisms based on a common ancestor, while homoplasy refers to similarity due to convergent evolution. Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, while synapomorphy refers to a shared derived characteristic among a group of organisms. While all of these concepts are related to the study and classification of biodiversity, systematics is the most specific and all-encompassing term.

Quiz 16: Reconstructing and Using Phylogenies

Shared derived traits are also known as

The common ancestor of humans and the other "great apes" walked on all fours,whereas humans are bipeds.Bipedalism is thus the _______ trait.

Which of the following features can never be homologous?

The evolutionary relationship among organisms is known as

Use the following to answer questions : Refer to the figure below. -About when did the common ancestor of humans,chimpanzees,gorillas,and orangutans last exist?

Which statement about systematics is true?

Which statement about red fluorescent pigments is true?

The wasp genus Nasonia contains all of the descendants of the members' common ancestor.This genus therefore would be called

Humans and African apes (chimpanzees,bonobos,and gorillas) share traits such as elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth,which other more distantly related species do not have.These characteristics are called

Which statement about phylogenies is true?

Use the following to answer questions : Refer to the figure below. -How long ago did the lineage leading to humans and chimpanzees diverge from the lineage leading to gorillas?

The common ancestor of all of the species displayed in a phylogenetic tree lies at the _______ of the tree.

Drosophila yakuba and D.santomea are the closest relatives to each other.Therefore,they are considered _______ species.

What is formed when any two branches diverge in a phylogenetic tree?

Snakes,which lack limbs,evolved from vertebrates that had legs.The limbs of snakes disappeared by _ and the backbones of snakes are a _.

The antifreeze proteins found in fish that live in very cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic have evolved independently,not because of shared ancestry.Based on this information,which statement is true?

Matz's discovery of coral proteins that fluoresce in red light was a valuable extension of the Noble Prize-winning work that produced green fluorescent protein because

Use the following to answer questions : Refer to the figure below. -Not counting the root,how many nodes are present?

As adaptations for flight,the wings of bats and the wings of birds are an example of

The study and classification of biodiversity is called