Evolution Review

Female mosquitoes need a meal of blood from a person or other animal in order to produce eggs. It has been discovered that mosquitoes have cells on their antennae that can detect the insect repellent known as DEET. The repellent is not harmful to mosquitoes, but when mosquitoes detect DEET, they will not land on the surface where the DEET has been applied. This protects people from being bitten by mosquitoes. Recently, scientists found some mosquitoes that are resistant to DEET because they do not detect its presence. They bred these mosquitoes and eventually produced a population consisting of about 50% DEET-resistant insects. Mosquitoes with DEET resistance have been found in natural environments. Explain how the continued use of this repellent may cause the percentage of these resistant mosquitoes to increase in the future.

Mosquitoes that do not detect the presence of DEET will land on people and bite them and be able to reproduce

The concept being represented is (beetle picture)

Natural selection

Which diagram below indicates that species D is more closely related to C than it is to either A or B?

c a b c d \ / \ / \ / \ /

Are species A and B more closely related than A and D? Answer yes or no and support your answer with information from the diagram.

A and B are more closely related because they have a more recent common ancestor than A and D

Gene mutations can be caused by many things. These mutations are biologically important because they

Can result in a new variety of gene combinations in the species

Which two factors could lead to the evolution of a species over time?

Changes in the genes of sex cells and survival of the fittest

Identify two groups of organisms from the diagram that still exist on Earth today. Describe how they may have been able to survive to the present.

Crocodilians and Birds. They adapted to their environments

State one possible cause for the extinction of species E.

It was not able to adapt to its environment There was not enough food

Evolution leads to changes in how frequently certain traits appear in a population. Describe how the process of natural selection can result in an increase in frequencies of certain traits found in a population.

More variation increases the chances that some members of the population will survive in a change of environment

A variety of species of Galapagos finches evolved from one original species long ago through the process of

Natural Selection

Genetic recombination, production of more offspring than can survive, and struggling with the challenges of the environment are all concepts associated with

Natural selection

Many animals have developed courtship behaviors. Males will often dance, swim, or sing in a particular way to attract a female. Males who are more successful at the courtship behavior will have a greater chance of having more offspring. This behavior is a result of

Natural selection

When it is disturbed, the bombardier beetle is able to produce and release a hot spray of irritating chemicals from the end of its body, as shown in the photo below. As a result, most animals that have experienced this defense avoid the beetles in the future. The beetle's defense mechanism has developed as a result of

Natural selection over many generations

Which occurrence represents an example of evolution?

Some antibodies are almost useless, because pathogens have developed a resistance to these antibiotics

Which statement would most likely be correct, based on the information in the diagram?

Species J had little variation and lived in a changing environment

An environmental change severely affected the organism represented by species K. What was the result? Support your answer.

Species K has gone extinct due to its inability to adapt to the changed environment

Ten years ago, scientists discovered a well-preserved set of dinosaur remains in China. This dinosaur, which walked on Earth about 125 million years ago, had feathers and was about the same size as a turkey — but don't be fooled. This dino's bite was a lot worse than a turkey's gobble. After a close (and careful!) examination of the dino's teeth, scientists recently concluded that this dinosaur was probably poisonous. The study was led by David Burnham, who works and teaches at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. State one inference that could be made based on the fact that this dinosaur had feathers.

The dinosaur could fly; Dinosaurs care the ancestors of birds; Some types of dinosaurs evolved into birds

New research has demonstrated that turtles and humans may have had a common ancestor 310 million years ago. A recent study looked at the genes responsible for the skin layers of turtle shells compared to the genes for human skin. The findings of the study suggest that about 250 million years ago, when turtle evolution split from other reptiles, a mutation in a specific group of genes occurred. The basic organization of this group of genes is similar in turtles and humans, and they produce the important skin proteins that produce shells in turtles and protect against infection in the skin of humans. Describe how the mutation in the genes of a turtle ancestor turned out to be a beneficial evolutionary adaptation.

The mutation results in a shell with better protection, they produced skin proteins that protected against infection in the skin of humans and the turtles were protected from predators

In his journey to the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin was amazed by the variation in the characteristics of plants and animals he encountered. In any habitat, food can be limited and the types of foods available may vary. One year, there was no rain on these islands. Many plants failed to bloom and produced no new seeds. This left mostly large, tough seeds for the finches to eat. Describe one change in beak characteristics that would most likely occur in the finch population after many generations if this change in seed size became permanent.

Their beaks could get longer and rounder.

One possible explanation for the fact that some simple, one-celled organisms did not evolve into complex, multicellular organisms is that

These organisms possessed traits that enabled them to survive in a changing environment

The process of sexual reproduction is an important part of the process of evolution. One reason for this is that meiosis and fertilization directly produce many new

Variations

A new finch is found to have a diet of worms and caterpillars. Identify one finch from the diagram that would have a beak most similar to the new finch. Support your answer.

Warbler finch because they could use their beaks to dig into the ground for worms.

A chemical was added to hand sanitizers and dish detergents to kill bacteria. Certain species of bacteria are no longer killed by this chemical. One likely reason for the decreased effectiveness of this chemical is that these bacteria have

a mutation for resistance

The role that the environment plays in determining which species survive is referred to as

a selective agent

Over time, data that support the successful evolution of a species would include observations that describe

an increase in the proportion of offspring that have favorable characteristics

According to the theory of biological evolution, most present-day species of organisms

descended from earlier, different species of organisms

The type of information directly provided by these fossil footprints is useful because it

is a record of some similarities and differences they share with present-day species

In a sexually reproducing species, evolution could occur as a result of

modification of genes in sex cells

The change observed in the number of green and brown beetles in the population is most likely due to

natural selection

Which organic compounds would be the best to analyze in order to determine if two species are closely related?

proteins

Caffeine is a compound found in the seeds of many different plants, such as coffee beans, cola nuts, and cacao beans (the source of chocolate). The presence of this chemical in all three types of plants suggests that these plants

share a common ancestry

The theory of evolution states that

species change over time, sometimes developing into new species

Natural selection produces changes most quickly in

species with short reproductive cycles

Evidence that best supports the theory of biological evolution was obtained from the

study of fossil records

Scientists who have examined the fossil record have noted that some species have changed very little over long periods of geologic time. The lack of change in such organisms is most likely because

the environment that they lived in remained the same, and they were well-adapted to it

A genetic change that occurs in a body cell of a mouse will not contribute to the evolution of the species because

the evolution of a species can result from changes in reproductive cells, not body cells

One possible reason why polar bears might not be able to survive if the environment they live in changes is because

they are adapted to the specific environment in which they now live

Evolution can occur at different rates; however, for evolution to occur, there must be

variations within a species

How does the ability to produce 3000 to 6500 eggs benefit the species?

More offspring are likely to survive and reproduce