Question 1

What is not a recognized pattern of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

Natural selection is a key mechanism of evolution, described by patterns such as directional, stabilizing, balancing, and disruptive selection. "Evolutionary" is not a recognized pattern of natural selection; it is a broad term that encompasses the overall process of evolution, including various mechanisms and patterns of change, rather than a specific pattern of selection itself.

Question 2

The change in color of peppered moths in polluted areas is an example of which pattern of natural selection?

Accepted Answer

The change in color of peppered moths in polluted areas is an example of directional selection, where one phenotype is favored over another, leading to a shift in the population's phenotype distribution over time. This occurred as darker-colored moths had a survival advantage in polluted areas, leading to an increase in their frequency.

Question 3

Directional selection is exhibited by:

Accepted Answer

Directional selection is exhibited by the peppered moths, where darker moths were favored during the industrial revolution due to pollution, leading to a shift in the population's coloration.

Question 4

Stabilizing selection favors:

Accepted Answer

Stabilizing selection favors intermediate phenotypes by selecting against extreme variations of a trait, thus maintaining the status quo and reducing variation.

Question 5

An example of stabilizing selection involves:

Accepted Answer

Stabilizing selection favors the average phenotype and reduces variation. Clutch size in birds is an example where too few or too many eggs can be disadvantageous, favoring an intermediate number.

Question 6

Many young sea turtle hatchlings are eaten by birds on their way from the nest to the ocean. As a result, the young of some species tend to hatch synchronously, on or near the same date. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Stabilizing selection occurs when individuals with intermediate traits are favored over those with extreme traits. In this case, synchronous hatching increases the survival rate of hatchlings by overwhelming predators, thus favoring the intermediate timing of hatching.

Question 7

When green forms of the pea aphid suffer a higher rate of parasitism than red morphs, but red morphs are more likely to be attacked by predatory ladybird beetles, the result is:

Accepted Answer

Balancing selection occurs when different forces select for multiple alleles or traits within a population, maintaining genetic diversity. In this case, the green morphs are more susceptible to parasitism, while the red morphs are more likely to be preyed upon by ladybird beetles, suggesting that both forms are maintained in the population due to these opposing selective pressures.

Question 8

According to the evolutionary species concept how many differences in a DNA sequence is sufficient to separate groups into species?

Accepted Answer

The evolutionary species concept does not specify a particular number of DNA sequence differences required to separate groups into species. The concept focuses on evolutionary lineage and reproductive isolation rather than specific genetic differences.

Question 9

Which is not a possible mechanism for allopatric speciation?

Accepted Answer

Allopatric speciation occurs when biological populations of the same species become isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with genetic interchange. This isolation is typically due to geographical barriers like rivers, mountains, or islands. Separation on co-occurring host plants does not involve geographical isolation, but rather ecological separation, and thus does not fit the definition of allopatric speciation.

Question 10

In an area only 20 x 5 miles on Hawaii, 26 subspecies of land snail, Achatinella mustelina, have been recognized, each in a different valley separated from the others by mountain ridges. This supports the idea of

Accepted Answer

Allopatric speciation occurs when populations are geographically separated, leading to the evolution of new species. The separation of Achatinella mustelina subspecies by mountain ridges in different valleys is a classic example of allopatric speciation, where physical barriers prevent gene flow between populations, allowing them to evolve independently.

Question 11

The Earth's Atmosphere contained little to no oxygen until about:

Accepted Answer

The Earth's atmosphere contained little to no oxygen until about 2.5 billion years ago, a period known as the Great Oxidation Event, when oxygen levels began to rise significantly due to photosynthetic processes.

Question 12

The Devonian is sometimes know as the "age of the _________".

Accepted Answer

The Devonian period is often referred to as the "age of the fishes" due to the significant diversification and abundance of fish species during this time.

Question 13

The tendency for animals to become larger over evolutionary time is known as _______rule.

Accepted Answer

Cope's rule posits that population lineages tend to increase in body size over evolutionary time, a pattern observed in various animal groups.

Question 14

The extensive forests of the carboniferous period gave rise to

Accepted Answer

The extensive forests of the Carboniferous period contributed to global cooling by removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which reduced the greenhouse effect.

Question 15

During the _________ period, the continents had aggregated into one land mass called Pangea.

Accepted Answer

The continents had aggregated into one land mass called Pangea during the Permian period, which is the last period of the Paleozoic era, occurring from about 299 to 252 million years ago.

Question 16

Which present day land mass did not make up part of Gondwanaland?

Accepted Answer

Gondwanaland was a supercontinent that included present-day South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia, but not Asia. Asia was part of the northern supercontinent Laurasia.

Question 17

Tapirs are currently found in:

Accepted Answer

Tapirs are native to the forests and jungles of South America and Asia, where they play key roles in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and prey for large predators.

Question 18

North America is considered part of which realm?

Accepted Answer

North America is primarily considered part of the Nearctic realm, which encompasses most of the continent north of the tropical regions of Mexico.

Question 19

In Africa, the equivalent species to the South American giant armadillo is the

Accepted Answer

The pangolin is considered the equivalent species to the South American giant armadillo in Africa due to their similar ecological roles as ant and termite eaters, despite being unrelated and an example of convergent evolution.

Question 20

The idea that, in an ever changing world, species must continually evolve and change in order not to go extinct has been called:

Accepted Answer

The Red Queen hypothesis posits that species must constantly adapt, evolve, and proliferate not just for reproductive advantage but to survive against ever-evolving opposing species, a concept derived from the Red Queen's race in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," where characters must keep running simply to stay in the same place.

Quiz 3: Natural Selection, Speciation, and Extinction