Evolution

the number and location of bones of many fossil vertebrates are similar to those in living vertebrates. most biologists would probably explain this fact on the basis of... (the needs of the organisms, a common ancestor, the struggle for existence, the inheritance of acquired traits)

a common ancestor

what is a species?

a group of organisms that can produce viable offspring

which phrase best defines evolution? (an adaptation of a species to its environment, a sudden replacement of one population by another, changes in a species as it becomes more perfect, a process of change in allele frequencies over time)

a process of change in allele frequencies over time

what is geographic isolation?

a subcategory of reproductive isolation, a physical barrier divides a population into two subpopulations, no cross breeding, the two populations will independently evolve

what is behavioral isolation?

a subcategory of reproductive isolation, speciation that might be based on sexual selection, females will mate with attractive men, because of no cross mating they will evolve into two different species

what is temporal isolation?

a subcategory of reproductive isolation, when two populations become isolated due to differences in time of year for reproduction

a single species that has evolved into several different forms that live in different ways has undergone... (adaptive radiation, coevolution, punctuated equilibrium, mass extinction)

adaptive radiation

when a farmer breeds only his or her best livestock, the process involved is... (natural selection, artificial selection, artificial variation, survival of the fittest)

artificial selection

what would explain why the sugar glider and flying squirrel both have the ability to glide? (both evolved at the same time, both interbred and blended their gene pools in the past, both learned to glide by imitating the same kinds of species, both adapted to similar conditions in which gliding increased their chances of survival)

both adapted to similar conditions in which gliding increased their chances of survival

in genetic drift, allele frequencies change because of... (mutations, chance, natural selection, genetic equilibrium)

chance

the process by which two species evolve in response to chances in each other over time is called... (convergent evolution, adaptive radiation, coevolution, punctuated equilibrium)

coevolution

sometimes, organisms that are not closely related look similar because of... (convergent evolution, molecular clocks, mutations, reclassification)

convergent evolution

in biology, an evolutionary innovation is also referred to as a... (derived character, taxonomic group, molecular clock, physical similarity)

derived character

in a population of finches in which one group has a short beak and another has a long beak, what process has probably occurred? (directional selection, disruptive selection, stabilizing selection, genetic drift)

disruptive selection

darwin called the ability of an organisms to survive and reproduce in its specific environment... (diversity, fitness, adaptation, evolution)

fitness

fossils of snakes with hind limbs but no forelimbs have been discovered. which of the following conclusions is best supported by this fossil evidence? (snakes are likely to evolve limbs in the future, are well adapted to live on land without limbs, have evolved from an ancestral reptile with limbs, are poor competitors compared to reptiles with limbs)

have evolved from an ancestral reptile with limbs

in 1995, 15 iguanas of the same species floated to the island of aguilla on a tree stump. no other iguanas were on that island before. scientists think the iguanas came from a different island southeast of anguilla. which of the following factors have the most influence on whether the iguanas will become a separate species on the two different islands? (how long ago anguilla was formed, how much variation there is in the body size of the iguanas, how many base pairs are in their dna sequences, how different the environment on anguilla is from the other island)

how different the environment on anguilla is from the other island

darwin's theory of evolution explains all of the following EXCEPT... (how species become extinct, how inherited traits are passed from parent to offspring, how species change over time, how evolution takes place in the natural world)

how inherited traits are passed from parent to offspring

what is an adaptation?

inherited characteristic that increases an organism's chance of survival

what is comparative anatomy?

looking at homologous structures that can show how the same structures have evolved for different uses

when famers select animals or plants to use for breeding, they look for... (species that are perfect and unchanging, homologous structures, traits that are produced artificially, natural variations that are present in a species)

natural variations that are present in a species

natural selection acts directly on... (alleles, genes, phenotypes, mutations)

phenotypes

individuals who survive are the ones best adapted for their environment. their survival is due to the... (possession of adaptations developed through use, possession of inherited adaptations that maximize fitness, lack of competition, choices made by plant and animal breeders)

possession of inherited adaptations that maximize fitness

the geographic isolation of two populations of a species tends to increase differences between their gene pools because it... (prevents interbreeding between the populations, prevents interbreeding within each population, causes temporal isolation of the two populations, increases differences in courtship behavior)

prevents interbreeding between the populations

a pattern in which species experience long, stable periods interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary chance is called... (convergent evolution, coevolution, adaptive radiation, punctuated equilibrium)

punctuated equilibrium

a factor that is necessary for the formation of a new species is... (reproduction at different times, geographic barriers, different mating behaviors, reproductive isolation)

reproductive isolation

a species of ivy invades the beetles' current habitat and becomes the dominant form of vegetation. the color of the leaves is similar to the beetles' color. considering selective pressure on the beetles from predatory birds, which type of natural selection will most likely occur? (disruptive, stabilizing, directional toward dark color, directional toward light color)

stabilizing

when individuals with an average form of a trait have the highest fitness, the result is... (not predictable, disruptive selection, directional selection, stabilizing selection)

stabilizing selection

what are vestigial structures?

structures that have no use for the organism

what situation might develop in a population having some plants whose flowers open at midday and others who open later in the day? (behavioral isolation, geographic isolation, temporal isolation, genetic drift)

temporal isolation

what happens in directional selection?

the bell curve gets pushed in one direction

what are selected against in stabilizing selection?

the extremes

which of the following observations best supports the conclusion that dolphins and sharks do not have a recent common ancestor? (dolphins form social groups but sharks are solitary, dolphins hunt during the day but sharks are nocturnal, the number of dolphin species is far less than the shark, the jawbone structure of dolphins is different from the sharks)

the jawbone structure of dolphins is different from the sharks

what is selected against in disruptive selection?

the middle

a group of mammals migrate away from the general population to a new habitat. under which of the following conditions will this group most likely develop into a separate species? (the new habitat is close to the old, the group returns each mating season, the ration of males to females is different than in the general population, the new habitat has different conditions than the old)

the new habitat has different conditions than the old

what is common descent?

the principle that all organisms are derived from common ancestors

what is speciation?

the process by which one species evolves to become two or more species, the original species is the common ancestor

a species of salamander makes a toxin that kills predators. some snakes can feed on them because they have a natural resistance to the toxin. based on evolutionary theory... (the snakes with resistance to the toxin will successfully reproduce and pass on the trait, the snakes without resistance will acquire it based on the rate that they eat the salamanders at, the salamanders that make low levels of toxin will develop camouflage, the salamanders will stop making the toxin because it is ineffective)

the snakes with resistance to the toxin will successfully reproduce and pass on the trait

what is molecular biology?

the use of molecular clocks and comparisons of proteins and changes in them

what is true about dissimilar organisms such as a cow and a yeast? (they are not related at all, their degree of relatedness cannot be evaluated, their degree of relatedness can be determined from their genes, they can interbreed and thus are the same species)

their degree of relatedness can be determined from their genes

although they often live in the same habitat, the american toad breeds earlier in the spring than the fowler's toad does. what can be inferred from this information? (the species do not interbreed because of geographic isolation, they do not interbreed because of temporal isolation, they interbreed throughout the spring, the american toad will cause the extinction of the fowler's toad)

they do not interbreed because of temporal isolation

which of the following statements best explains similar structures in organisms? (they evolved at the same time, they have a common ancestor, they spend all of their time in the water, they have the same method of locomotion)

they have a common ancestor

fossils typically provide evidence for evolution because... (they are millions of years old, they exist in all types of rocks, they supply good samples of rna, they show patterns of biological change)

they show patterns of biological change

what are the purpose of fossil records?

to serve as a timeline as organisms change

what is mimicry?

when members of one species evolve to look like another species as a method of protection

what is reproductive isolation?

when some members of a population stop reproducing with certain other members

if a mutation introduces a new skin color in a lizard population, which factor might determine whether the frequency of the new allele will increase? (how many other alleles are present, whether the mutation makes some lizards more fit for the environment than others, how many phenotypes the population has, whether the mutation was caused by nature or human intervention)

whether the mutation makes some lizards more fit for the environment than others