Bio Final

What is the ultimate explanation for modern human preference for fatty foods?

Ancestral humans that preferred fatty foods were less likely to starve, leaving more offspring to the next generation

What is the difference between artificial selection and natural selection?

Artificial selection requires human intervention, whereas natural selection does not require human intervention.

Because it is possible for a female to mate with multiple males, any of whom could be the father, male mammals and birds will always:

have some degree of paternal uncertainty

Assume that you carry an allele, R, that causes you to help individuals to whom you are not related. This help increases their fitness and decreases yours. What would make the frequency of allele R may still increase in the population?

if individuals you help are likely to return the favor and help you at some point in the future.

Behaviors that do not require environmental input for their development are called:

instincts

During gene flow, where do the genes flow?

into and out of the population due to migration of individuals from one population to another

The phenotype of an organism is:

it's physical characteristics

In a polygynous mating system:

multiple females tend to mate with the same male.

The origin of all genetic variation is:

mutation

To demonstrate evolution by natural selection, all of the following conditions must be satisfied EXCEPT:

non-random mating.

In a random study of 1,000 wills, it was shown that ___________________ received the smallest share of a deceased's estate.

non-relatives

Evolution occurs?

only via natural selection, genetic drift, migration, or mutation

Two types of polygamy are:

polygyny and polyandry

The appropriate unit for defining and measuring genetic variation is the

population

Behaviors that are learned easily by all , or nearly all, individuals of a species

prepared learning

Mate guarding is a reproductive tactic that functions to:

reduce paternity uncertainty

In reciprocal altruism, individuals generally give up something of _____________________ in exchange for something of _____________________.

relatively low value; great value at a later time

Many mosquito populations today are resistant to pesticides that were historically effective. This pesticide resistance arose in these populations because:

some individuals were resistant to the pesticides before they were used, and those mosquitoes were more likely to survive and reproduce.

Natural selection decreases genetic variability in a population. This statement is:

sometimes correct, especially in cases of stabilizing selection

Human birth weight is a classic example of the result of:

stabilizing selection

Natural selection can only act on traits?

that are heritable

Genetic drift will have the greatest effects for populations:

that are very small

When a sudden change in the environment, such as a flood or fire, reduces the size of a population, the survivors' collective gene pool will be only a limited representation of what was present before the disaster. This phenomenon is called:

the bottleneck effect

The more asymmetric the parental investment is between the sexes:

the more radical we expect the sexual dimorphism, both physically and behaviorally.

Which of the following is the best measure of an organism's fitness?

the number of fertile offspring it produces

An animal will preferentially feed on:

the prey that provides the most energy relative to effort.

Sexual dimorphism refers to:

the situation in which males and females differ physically and/or behaviorally.

A gene pool consists of

the total of all alleles present in a population.

_____________ selection favors organisms with phenotypes that are at one extreme relative to the average phenotype.

Directional

In general, which of the following is the best way to distinguish male from female?

Males produce small motile gametes.

In a polyandrous mating system:

Multiple males tend to mate with the same female

Evolution is defined as

a change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time

From an evolutionary perspective, behavior can be viewed best as:

a trait that can satisfy the three conditions required for evolution by natural selection

Monogamy, a relatively rare system outside of the birds, evolves when:

both males and females have high and equal parental investment

When a goose spots an egg outside of its nest, the goose gets out of the nest and rolls the egg back. Once started, a goose continues the egg-retrieval movement all the way back to the nest, even if the egg is taken away during the process. This is called:

fixed action pattern

The longer two species have been evolving on their own, the greater the number of _____________________ that accumulate between them.

genetic differences

Which of the following best explains why genetic bottlenecks and founder effects are evolutionarily important?

Both result in small populations that are influenced more by genetic drift.

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about fixed action patterns?

Fixed action patterns are developed over a long period of time through observations of the parents actions.