Evolution Exam (Fall 2020)

According to the fossil record, the genus Homo first arose in:

Africa

"Lucy" who belongs to the group __________, was a bipedal hominin with a brain smaller than that of humans

Australopithecus

Thirty people are selected for a long-term mission to colonize a planet many light-years away from Earth. The mission is successful, and the population rapidly grows to several hundred individuals. However, certain genetic diseases are unusually common in this group, and the group's gene pool is quite different from the population on Earth that they left behind. Which of the following phenomena has left its mark on this population?

Founder effect

What compounds and conditions did Stanley Miller need to perform his 1953 experiment to simulate an early atmosphere?

H20, H2, CH4, NH3 and Lightning

Which best describes Homo habilis? - the upright man-human looking (lived 1.9MYA to 143,000 YA) - handy man- first to make and use stone tools - mated with humans, lived recently (200,000 - 40,000 years ago) - the possible missing link between early primates and modern looking primates

Handy man - first to make and use stone tools

The forelimbs of humans, cats, and bats have a number of detailed similarities in their construction. What best explains these similarities?

The forelimbs are similar because all of these organisms inherited the basic forelimb design from a common ancestor

This person independently converged on the idea of evolution by natural selection:

Wallace

The emergence of many diverse species from a common ancestor is called:

adaptive radiation

During the Cambrian explosion approximately 535 to 525 million years ago:

animals rapidly diversified in the oceans

Archaea: - gave rise to protocells - are found primarily in oceans - are one of the three domains of life - all of the above

are one of the three domains of life

Mass extinctions: - Permanently and irreversibly reduces the total number of species on Earth Are caused by human activity and did not occur prior to the expansion of the Earth's human population Mainly serves to "weed out" poorly adapted organisms and make room for more advanced species Can be responsible for an adaptive radiation where new species develop to occupy newly opened niche environments

can be responsible for an adaptive radiation where new species develop to occupy newly opened niche environments

When two organisms share similar traits but don't share a common ancestor, these species are an example of?

convergence

Roses native to India are grown at a plant-breeding center in Arizona, where those with the thickest leaves survive and reproduce best in the drier climate. This evolutionary adaptation of roses to their new environment is due to _____.

directional selection

A rabbit population consists of animals that are either very dark on top or very light on top. The color pattern is not related to sex. No rabbit shows intermediate coloration (medium darkness). This pattern might result from:

disruptive selection

Two populations of organisms belong to the same biological species when they

encounter each other, mate, and produce viable, fertile offspring under natural conditions

Which of the following is not consistent with natural selection? - Every member of the population has identical DNA. Organisms tend to produce more offspring than the environment can support, leading to competition. Sexual reproduction recombines traits within a population, producing new varieties of organisms, some of which compete for resources and mates better than others. The source of variation in a population is gene mutation. Competition for mates leads to differential reproduction success of individuals, thus changing allelic frequencies in subsequent generations.

every member of the population has identical DNA.

A "ring species" is an example of sympatric speciation.

false

In natural selection traits are selected for the "good of the species"

false

In order for speciation to occur a population must be dispersed on an island.

false

Predators have learned to associate desirable prey with bright colors

false

Protocell fossils were found in Australia

false

Stromatolites are deposits of plant material found near the primordial ocean.

false

What could be a driving force behind why female choice is a major influence in sexual selection?

females have the largest investment in offspring and want a healthy/strong partner.

Which of the following options lists major events in the history of life on Earth in the proper order, from earliest to most recent?

first prokaryotes; photosynthesis; then eukaryotes; colonization of land by plants and fungi

Which of the following are main categories of evidence that scientists use to study evolution?

fossils and anatomical and molecular/biochemical

A small population of tortoises has been isolated on a small, remote island in the Galapagos for over 10,000 generations. While the population's characteristics are still similar to the ancestral mainland species, male sperm exhibit a variety of abnormalities and female fertility is much lower than on the mainland. What process may have been acting on this island's population?

genetic drift

Which of the following options list the taxonomic categories in the correct order from most specific to most general?

genus, family, order, class, phylum

When there seems to be no contemporary selective forces that can explain the traits of recent organisms, such as the New Zealand Moa, evolutionary biologists often invoke the idea of:

ghost of predation past

Which best describes the Permian Mass Extinction Event?

highest mass extinction death rate & oxygen removed from oceans

The K-T boundary is geologically identifiable because scientists found evidence of a massive asteroid impact in the form of depositions of:

iridium

Coevolution: - is the evolution of individuals within a population in response to selection pressure from other individuals in the population. - is a special type of evolution that differs from Darwinian evolution. - is the evolution of two populations of different species in response to selection pressures that individuals from the two populations place on each other. - occurs between a population and the physical environment in which the population lives.

is the evolution of two populations of different species in response to selection pressures that individuals from the two populations place on each other

Which of the following is not a quality of binocular vision

large field of view

What concept did the video on the Christmas Island crabs emphasize?

more offspring will be produced than can possibly survive

In coevolution with moths and bats:

moths developed ears or ability to detect sonar and avoid predation by bats

Which of the following is not a characteristic of all living organisms? - heredity metabolism movement from place to place evolution All of the above are characteristics of all living organisms

movement from place to place

The most recent evidence examining the relationship between modern humans and Neanderthals comes from analysis of:

neanderthal genes in European lineage H. sapiens but not in H. sapiens that migrated to Asia or remained in Africa.

Minimally, the two functions that indicate life are:

reproduction and metabolism

A current leading hypothesis about the first system of inheritance in the earliest life forms involved:

self-replicating RNA molecules aided by ribozymes

Birds with average-sized wings survived a severe storm more successfully than other birds in the same population with longer or shorter wings. This illustrates:

stabilizing selection

Speciation without geographic isolation is called ________ speciation.

sympatric

Emergence is a property: - that is purportedly responsible for the formation of life - of only living systems - of only chemical & physical systems - that is not seen in simple systems

that is purportedly responsible for the formation of life

A population of grasshoppers in the Kansas prairie has two color phenotypes, green and brown. Typically, the prairie receives enough water to maintain healthy, green grass. Assume a bird that eats grasshoppers moves into the prairie. How will this affect natural selection of the grasshoppers?

the brown phenotype should be more easily seen by the predator and decrease in frequency

Which best describes Ida (Darwinius masillae)?

the possible missing link between early primates and modern looking primates

The reason that pea hens mate with peacocks with large tails and many eye spots is that:

the size and spot density are indicative of peacock fitness shown as an increased survival rate of chicks.

What was "Darwin's Dilemma" with evolution?

there was a lack of fossil evidence of ancestors to the Cambrian explosion

The North American Pronghorn far outraces any predators remaining on the North American continent. If maintaining this speed means bearing fewer offspring, which of the following is the most likely to happen given enough time?

this species will slow down

How did scientists change the behavior of the male polygamous Montane Vole to become monogamous?

transferred to the male polygamous vole a gene for a hormone that caused monogamy

Beta hemoglobin is a conserved region that is useful for comparing the lineage of species

true

Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection failed to explain how new genetic varieties can appear in a population every generation.

true

Evolution is a process that occurs as a result of differences in reproductive fitness

true

Neanderthals used shells to adorn their bodies greater than 50,000 years ago.

true

Parental care is a characteristic shared by all primates

true

Reduced allele variation results in an increased chance of extinction

true

The Founder Effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population.

true

The currently available fossil record documents gradual evolutionary changes that can link one group of organisms to another

true

Which of the following is the first distinctively hominid trait to appear in the fossil record? - upright walking (bipedalism) - increased brain size - small teeth and relatively delicate jaws - sophisticated stone tools

upright walking (bipedalism)

How does the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite locate planets?

watch and keep track of the light of a star