Evolution Quiz Review

Midrange forms of a trait can be adaptive while extreme forms of a trait are selected against. Which graph or graphs in the accompanying figure represent this stabilizing selection phenomenon?

B only

Allele frequency refers to the fraction of individuals with a particular version of a given gene. What effect does natural selection have on the allele frequency of a population?

It increases the frequency of alleles that improve a species' survival in a particular environment.

Genetic drift can best be defined as

a change in the allelic frequency within a population due to random chance.

In any population, some individuals have forms of traits that make them better suited to their environment than others. This is referred to as a(n) ______ trait.

adaptive

The wings of a bird and the wings of a butterfly are ____ and show morphological ____.

analogous; convergence

Four of the five answers listed below are types of selection exhibited by nature. Select the exception.

artificial

A female from one species does not recognize the mating patterns of a male from another species. Whats type of reproductive isolation is occurring?

behaviorial

Four of the five answers listed below are characteristics of an unchanging, nonevolving population. Select the exception.

differential survival

Individuals that are better suited to their environment are likely to have more offspring and pass their genetic material on to future generations. This is referred to as:

fitness

Thomas Malthus proposed that

humans reproduce beyond the capacity of their environment to sustain them.

Four of the five answers listed below are sources of variation in a population. Select the exception.

law of dominance

The influence of genetic drift on allele frequencies increases as

population size decreases.

Four of the five answers listed below can upset genetic equilibrium. Select the exception.

random mating

Complete reproductive isolation is evidence that what has occurred?

speciation

A population of deer gets exposed to a pesticide that produces mutations in one of the following types of cells. In which type of cell will a mutation be most likely to alter the make-up of the population?

sperm cell

In a certain bird species, clutch size (the number of eggs laid by a female in one breeding season) ranges from four to eight, and the most frequent clutch size is six. This phenomenon is an example of

stabilizing selection.

Natural selection operates on populations over many generations. Which of the following allows natural selection to occur?

the unequal ability of individuals to survive and reproduce

According to Darwin, natural selection is based on the ____ found in populations.

variations