Biology 1408 Exam 3

Reproductive isolation

the inability of individuals from two populations to produce fertile offspring with each other, thereby precluding gene exchange between the populations

Why are males of a species more vulnerable when providing parental care?

the male may be investing in offspring that are not his own, thereby increasing the fitness of another genetic line.

Systematics

the modern approach to classification, with the broader goal of reconstructing the evolutionary history, or phylogeny, of organisms

allopatric speciation

the process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation

Monophyletic

describes any group in which all of the individuals are more closely related to each other than to any individuals outside that groups

behavior

encompasses any of the actions performed by an organism, often in response to its environment or the actions of another ogranism.

female choosiness

ensures that females will select only those males that have plentiful resources and high-quality genes

first method of sympatric speciation

errors occur during cell division, creating individuals with twice as many chromosomes (polyploidy) that can only self-fertilize or breed with other polyploidic plants

macroevolution

evolutionary change involving the origins of entirely new groups of organisms

When one animal can increase its fitness by deceiving another, deception can be

expected to evolve

The less closely related two individuals are, the more likely they are to

experience conflict

background extinction

extinction caused by slow and steady process of natural selection

Homologous features

features that are inherited from a common ancestor

How many mass extinctions have there been?

five

What is the most effective way for males to maximize their reproductive success?

gain access to mating opportunities with additional females

Physical differences in male/female parenting efforts

internal fertilization/development, lactation

What affect did the asteroid have on mammals?

it allowed them to flourish in a land without predators

adaptive radiation

large, rapid diversifications that occur in a brief period of time in which a small number of species diversify into a much larger number of species

two important features of the biological species concept

1. it holds that members of a species are actually interbreeding or could interbreed 2. refers only to "natural" conditions, not animals that could breed in captivity

prepared learning

learning that occurs without extensive training because of an evolved predisposition to the behavior

prezygotic barriers

make it impossible for sperm to fertilize an egg ex: courtship rituals, physical differences

Natural selection can produce organisms that exhibit __________, if in nature, the performance of these actions nearly always lead to increased fitness.

maladaptive

When did biologists begin using genetic sequencing to classify animals?1

1980s

Woese-Fox System

3 domains: Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya

How many kingdoms fall under the Eukarya domain?

4

Earth form approximately

4.5 billion years ago

What happened during The Great Dying?

95% of marine life and 75% of terrestrial vertebrates became extinct

The sex with the greater energetic investment in reproduction will be ___________________ when it comes to mating.

more discriminating

phylogenetic tree

A family tree that shows the evolutionary relationships thought to exist among groups of organisms

What effect does pleasurable sex have on reproducing organisms?

It ensures that they will continue to seek out sexual experiences and furthers their reproductive fitness

Linnean system

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Triggers for adaptive radiation

Mass extinction events colonization events evolutionary innovations

What causes mass extinctions?

Natural occurrences such as crashing asteroids or volcanic eruptions

Were the earliest RNA molecules alive?

No, they could replicate but could not carry out metabolism

Are rhesus monkeys born afraid of snakes?

No, this appears to be a learned behavior

What do similar structures tell us about genetic relationships?

Nothing, they do not always identify true close relations

punctuated equilibrium

Pattern of evolution in which long stable periods are interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change

What is the first condition for reciprocal altruism?

Repeated interactions occur among individuals, with opportunities to be both the donor and recipient of altruistic-appearing acts

What happens if the conditions for reciprocal altruism are not met?

Selflishness is expected to be the norm among unrelated individuals

Why do animals consume preferred material?

So that they can extract the most energy and acquire essential nutrients

What can we learn from rhesus monkeys' inability to learn to fear flowers and rabbits?

That some behaviors exhibit an evolutionary basis for acquisition; they were important to ancestorial survival and reproductive success.

What is the second condition for reciprocal altruism?

The benefits to the recipient are significantly greater than the costs to the donor

sympatric speciation

The formation of new species in populations that live in the same geographic area

total reproductive output

The lifetime number of offspring produced by an individual.

inclusive fitness

The total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to increase the production of their offspring.

What is the third condition for reciprocal altruism?

There is an ability to recognize and punish cheaters who are recipients, but do not reciprocate

Does environment play a part in how an organism behaves?

Yes

Evolved behaviors can no longer be expected to be adaptive in

a brand-new environment

paternity uncertainty

a consequence of internal fertilization in that a male cannot be 100% certain any offspring the females produces are his progeny

The waggle dance is

a honeybee behavior that indicates the direction to a distant source of food

Microspheres

a membrane enclosed, small, spherical unit containing a self-replicating molecule and carrying information, but no genetic material

fixed action pattern

a sequence of behaviors triggered in response to a specific signal called a sign stimulus

reproductive investment

all of the material and energetic contribution that an individual will make to its offspring

Urey-Miller's "warm little pond" experiment was able to recreate what?

amino acids needed for life

communication

an action or signal on the part of one individual that informs or alters the behavior of another

The oldest rocks in Canada

are about 3.8 billion years old

innate behaviors/instincts

are present in all individuals in a population and do not vary much from one individual to another or over the individual's lifespan.

Was there oxygen on earth at the time life began?

no

Behaviors that reduce an individual's fitness are

not likely to evolve

postzygotic barriers

occur after fertilization and generally prevent the production of fertile offspring from individuals of two different species

Analogous traits

characteristics that are similar because they were produced by convergent evolution, not because they descended from a common structure in a share ancestor

Morphological species concept

characterizes a species by body shape and other structural features

Convergent evolution

occurs when populations of different organisms live in similar environments and so experience similar selective forces

speciation

one species splits into two or more different species

Which organisms is sympatric speciation more common in?

plants

What are some ways that mate guarding is achieved?

prolonged coupling post-coitus mucus plug that blocks passage of additional sperm

External fertilization

reduces the female's reproductive investment

first phase of speciation

reproductive isolation; two populations become separated from one another

altruistic behavior

self-sacrificing behavior that benefits another individual

Evidence suggests that the first cells may have

simply formed spontaneously

Biological species concept

species are populations of organisms that interbreed, or could interbreed, with each other under natural conditions, and that cannot interbreed with organisms from other such groups

learning

the acquirement and modification of behaviors over time in response to the individual's experiences.

extinction

the complete loss of all individuals within a species

What was the third phase to the formation of life?

the development of a membrane, enabling metabolism and creating the first cells

What was the second phase to the formation of life?

the formation of self-replicating, information containing molecules (RNA)

What was the first phase of the formulation of life?

the formation of small molecules containing carbon and hydrogen

evolutionary mismatch

when there is a mismatch between the environment organisms are in and the environment to which they are evolutionarily adapted

behaviors associated with sexual dimorphism

- One parent invests more in caring for the offspring. - Mating system tends toward polygamy. - One sex (usually females) is choosier when selecting a mate. - One sex (usually males) competes for access to mating opportunities with the other sex.

behaviors associated with sexual monomorphism

-Both parents invest equally in caring for the offspring -Mating system tends toward monogamy -Both sexes are equally choosy when selecting a mate

Bacteria and Archaea each have _________

1 kingdom

What are the 4 ways in which female choosiness manifests?

1. Mate only after subjecting a male to courtship rituals 2. mate only with a male who controls valuable resources 3. mate only with a male who contributes a large parental investment up front (food) 4. Mate only with a male who has valuable physical attributes

Most commonly accepted tree of life suggests that after the origin of life, this sequence of events occurred:

1. The bacteria arose from the first self-replicating, metabolizing cells. 2. There was a split between the bacteria and a line that gave rise to the archaea and eukarya. 3. The fusion of bacterial cells with archaea-like prokaryotes gave rise to the eukarya, which then split from the archaea line.

3 common signal types among animals

1. chemical 2. acoustic 3. visual

Do humans prefer dishes with more sugar or more fat?

Humans prefer both sugar and fat up a point, and then they just prefer fat.

What is an example of sign stimulus and fixed action pattern?

A goose retrieving an egg from outside of its nest (sign stimulus) and rolling it to its nest (fixed action pattern).

mass extinction

A large extinction of species in a relatively short period of time

honest signal

A signal, which cannot be faked, that is given when both the individual making the signal and the individual responding to it have the same interests; it carries the most accurate information about an individual or situation.

sign stimulus

An external signal that triggers the innate behavior called a fixed action pattern

sexual dimorphism

Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species.

mate guarding

Behavior by an individual that reduces the opportunity for that individual's mate to interact with other potential mates.

Microevolution

Change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.

_______ suffer stronger consequences as a result of poor mating choice.

Females

reciprocal altruism

behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future

Group selection

behaviors that are good for the population but detrimental to the individual

Monogamy is the most common mating system in

birds (though sometimes only per mating season)

What are the advantages of the morphological species concept over the Linnean system?

can be used to classify asexual species and doesn't require knowledge of which species can interbreed.

second phase of speciation

genetic divergence; two populations separately accumulate physical and behavioral differences over time

What is the most effective way for females to maximize reproductive success?

to put more effort into parenting and less into mating

Kin selection

when an individual assists a close relative in a way that increase's the relatives fitness enough to offset the individual's own decrease

second method of sympatric speciation

when plants of similar, but different species interbreed to form a hybrid plant