Question 1

Spotted skunks and striped skunks have overlapping habitat ranges,but no hybrid offspring are produced.Spotted skunks breed in the fall,striped skunks breed in the spring.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

The fact that spotted skunks breed in the fall and striped skunks breed in the spring indicates that they have different temporal mating patterns, which makes it impossible for them to interbreed and produce hybrid offspring. This is an example of temporal isolation.

Question 2

Pollen from a tomato plant lands on a grapefruit flower.The pollen fails to grow a pollen tube.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of gametic isolation because even though the pollen from the tomato plant lands on the grapefruit flower, it does not form a pollen tube to fertilize the egg cell. This suggests that the gametes (sperm and egg cells) of these two species are not compatible with each other.

Question 3

In North America,there are more than 60 species of mice in the genus Peromyscus,most of whom closely resemble one another.You wish to determine the relatedness of three of these species: the deer mouse,the oldfield mouse,and the white-footed mouse.You set up breeding experiments and find that deer mice and oldfield mice will reluctantly breed with one another,but neither one will breed with white-footed mice.What do you determine to be the pattern of relatedness of these three species?

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Question 4

What are the four main forces of evolution that act upon a species' gene pool?

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Question 5

Red kites are endangered hawks distributed in populations scattered throughout western and central Europe.In a recent study,investigators found 10 different alleles of a mitochondrial DNA gene.They discovered that the large population in central Spain had five different alleles of the gene.The population on Majorca (an island off the south coast of Spain),in contrast,had only one of those five.From this,you can infer that

Accepted Answer

The fact that the Majorca population has only one of the five alleles found in the central Spain population suggests that the Majorca population has a lower level of genetic diversity and has likely remained isolated from the larger Spanish population.

Question 6

A male from species A mates with a female from species B.Male A's sperm swims and finds the egg,but the sperm is unable to penetrate the egg.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Gametic isolation occurs when the sperm of one species is unable to fertilize the egg of another species, as in this scenario. Temporal isolation refers to species reproducing at different times, behavioral isolation refers to differences in mating behaviors, ecological isolation refers to differences in habitat preferences, and hybrid infertility refers to the inability of hybrid offspring to reproduce.

Question 7

Which of the following best points to a close evolutionary relationship between two different species?

Accepted Answer

Similar DNA is the most indicative of a close evolutionary relationship between two species as it suggests that they share a common ancestor and have undergone relatively few genetic changes over time. The other options may suggest some similarities or overlap in adaptations and behavior, but they do not necessarily point to a close evolutionary relationship.

Question 8

During the building of the London subway system in the late 1800s,a species of aboveground-dwelling mosquito expanded its distribution to include the underground tunnels,where it successfully lived and bred.In the late 1990s,scientists comparing the two groups of mosquitoes discovered that they are now different species.The most likely mode of reproductive isolation for these two species is

Accepted Answer

Ecological isolation is the most likely mode of reproductive isolation in this scenario because the two groups of mosquitoes are living in different environments (aboveground and underground), which prevents them from interbreeding.

Question 9

Would you expect members of the same family,same genus,or same species to share the most characteristics with one another? Explain.

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Question 10

Why is mitochondrial DNA slower to change than nuclear DNA?

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Question 11

Which of the following can influence the evolution of a species?

Accepted Answer

All of the listed factors - mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow - can influence the evolution of a species. Mutation creates genetic variation, natural selection acts on that variation, genetic drift can cause random changes in allele frequency within a population, and gene flow is the movement of genes between populations. Together, these processes can shape the genetic makeup of a species over time, leading to evolution.

Question 12

Kangaroo rats,kangaroo mice,and pocket mice are found only in the deserts of the Southwestern United States.They share a number of features,including external,fur-lined cheek pouches,which they use to gather and transport seeds to their burrows.But they are also quite different from one another in size,overall shape,behavior,and other features.The best explanation for their similarities and differences is that

Accepted Answer

The fact that the kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, and pocket mice share external, fur-lined cheek pouches suggests that they share a common ancestor. However, the differences in size, shape, behavior, and other features suggest that natural selection has resulted in each species developing specific adaptations for its own environment. Therefore, the best explanation for their similarities and differences is that the species share a common ancestor, but natural selection has resulted in each species having specific adaptations to its own environment.

Question 13

Is reproductive isolation among populations of the same species always detrimental to their survival? If yes,explain why.If no,give one example when reproductive isolation is a problem and one example when it is not.

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Question 14

List at least five ways that two species may be reproductively isolated from each other.

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Question 15

Two populations of frog are separated from each other by a large distance and rarely interbreed with each other.However,approximately one male frog a year makes the journey and breeds with females in the other population.Would you expect these populations to eventually become separate species? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

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Question 16

Snail species A has a shell that spirals counterclockwise,but a mutation has caused some individuals to have a clockwise shell.The genitalia of the two versions are incompatible,leading some scientists to say that the clockwise snails are reproductively isolated.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of mechanical isolation because the physical incompatibility of the genitalia between the two versions of snail species A prevents them from successfully mating and reproducing. Mechanical isolation is a form of reproductive isolation where differences in the size and shape of reproductive organs prevent the mating between two species or variations.

Question 17

Some reproductive barriers prevent the formation of a zygote,others allow offspring to be born.Discuss the barriers that allow the birth of offspring,and explain why these hybrids are not the beginning of a pathway to a new species being formed.

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Question 18

Snail species A has a shell that spirals counterclockwise,but a mutation has caused some individuals to have a clockwise shell.The genitalia of the two versions are incompatible,leading some scientists to say that the clockwise snails are reproductively isolated.Could the clockwise snails become a new species?

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Question 19

Why doesn't the egg cell receive the mitochondria found in a sperm cell?

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Question 20

An ethnobiological study of several Mexican Amerindian groups looked at how they named the plants in their region.Biologists noted that their plant names and groupings closely matched the species and generic groupings used by botanists.For example,each species of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia)was clearly defined,and all species of Opuntia were placed into one category in the local language.Other studies have shown that other traditional groups have similar native taxonomy systems that match well with biologists' grouping to the generic level.Why is this not surprising from a taxonomic and an evolutionary perspective?

Accepted Answer

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Quiz 15: B: Nonadaptive Evolution and Speciation Urban Evolution