BIO 315 - FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
D - Correct Answers -Markow et al. (1993) determined the genotypes of 122 Havasupai
people at two loci (HLA-A and HLA-B) in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC),
finding a significant excess of heterozygotes compared to Hardy-Weinberg
expectations. Based on subsequent research, which one of the following statements
have been put forth to explain this result:
a) Havasupai individuals are choosing mates with HLA-A and HLA-B genotypes
different from their own.
b) Havasupai fetuses, children, and/or adults have a higher probability of survival if they
are heterozygous at HLA-A and HLA-B.
c) Havasupai individuals have higher reproductive success if their parents are
homozygous at HLA-A and HLA-B.
d) Answers a and b.
e) Answers b and C
C - Correct Answers -This figure presents data on energy expenditure per gram of
tissue for a number of different mammalian orders. Assuming that aging is the result of
the irreversible damage to cells caused by the accumulation of poisonous metabolic by-
products, which one of the following statements is true?
a) Primates (lemurs, monkeys, and apes, including humans) should be the longest-lived
order.
b) Hyraxes (Hyracoidea) should be the shortest-lived order.
c) We should expect to see little variation among different mammals in energy
expendature per gram of tissue.
d) Elephant shrews (Macroscelidea) should be the shortest-lived order.
e) Bats (Chiroptera) should be the longest-lived order.
R = 1/8 - Correct Answers -What is the coefficient of relationship (r) between the actor
and the recipient in the figure to the right? Actor --> Actor's Parent --> Actor's aunt/uncle
--> Recipient
D - Correct Answers -Research currently supports which one of the following
hypotheses as the best explanation for the evolution of menopause in humans?
a) Compared to men, the reproductive tract of women is more sensitive to the
accumulation of poisonous byproducts of metabolism.
,b) The genes that determine an individual's fertility mutate at a higher rate in women
than in men.
c) Because women who live past the age of 50 are too feeble to help raise children or
grandchildren, they may as well undergo menopause.
d) Older women reach an age at which inclusive fitness is maximized more by helping
to raise grandchildren than by trying to produce their own children.
e) Because most humans died by the age of 50, mutations that reduce reproductive
capacity late in life accumulated and were rarely expressed in premodern cultures.
These mutations are now manifested as menopause at age 50 to 55 in modern women.
C < Br - Correct Answers -Hamilton's Rule states that a gene for altruistic behavior will
be favored by kin selection when:
Negative frequency dependent selection - Correct Answers -A 1:1 sex ratio is the result
of which form of selection?
B - Correct Answers -Which one of the following statements is not consistent with the
Evolutionary Theory of Aging?
a) Mutations that decrease survival or reproduction late in life will accumulate in
populations.
b) Aging is caused by the irreversible damage to cells caused by the accumulation of
poisonous metabolic by-products.
c) Aging is due to the failure of organisms to completely repair to cellular damage.
d) Mutations that decrease survival or reproduction late in life have relatively small
effects on fitness.
e) Aging is due to mutations in genes that repair DNA damage, such as DNA mismatch
errors.
Local Mate competition - Correct Answers -Female-biased sex ratios, as found in fig
wasps, are expected under conditions of
B - Correct Answers -Solve the following question on the basis of inclusive fitness. J. B.
S. Haldane (one of the fathers of population genetics) was once explaining kin selection
to some friends in a pub. As the story goes, he scribbled some calculations on an
envelope and announced that, from an evolutionary perspective, he would be willing to
give up his life in even exchange for
a) One son
b) Four half-sib brothers
c) Six first cousins
d) none of the above
e) One full-sib brother
,A - Correct Answers -Given the relationship between clutch size and the probability of
survival of individual offspring shown in the figure to the right, what is the optimal clutch
size?
a) 5
b) 10
c) 15
d) 1
e) 20
C - Correct Answers -Fox et al. studied phenotypic plasticity in egg size in the seed
beetle, Stator limbatus, on two of its natural hosts, an acacia (Acacia greggii) and a palo
verde (Cercidium floridum). The acacia is a good host and the palo verde a poor host
with respect to larval development and survival. In a host switch experiment, Fox and
colleagues placed newly emerged females on each kind of seed, let them lay their first
egg, and then switched them to the other kind of seed. How did the size of the eggs
females laid change over the following 72 hours?
a) There was no change because once a female lays its first egg it produces the same
size egg for life.
b) None of the above statements is true.
c) Females that laid their first egg on acacia produced small eggs at first and when
switched to palo verde then gradually switched to larger eggs.
d) Females that laid their first egg on acacia produced large eggs at first and when
switched to palo verde then gradually switched to smaller eggs.
e) Females that laid their first egg on palo verde produced small eggs at first and when
switched to acacia then gradually switched to larger eggs.
D - Correct Answers -The figure to the right shows results from Schluter and
Gustafsson's (1993) work experimentally modifying clutch size in collared flycatchers.
Which one of the following statements concerning this figure is true?
a) When eggs were added to a nest the clutch size produced by surviving daughters
increased.
b) Insect parasitoids have a negative impact on brood size.
c) When cuckoos, which are nest parasites, add eggs to a nest the number of daughters
in the nest increased.
d) When eggs were added to a nest the clutch size produced by surviving daughters
decreased.
e) The removal of eggs by predators decreased the number of daughters within a nest.
B - Correct Answers -Luckenbill et al. (1984) selected for late and early reproduction on
two populations each of wild caught fruit flies (D. melanogaster). The results of their
selection experiments are shown below with late reproducing selected lines above, and
early reproducing selected lines below.
These results are inconsistent with the rate of living theory of aging because:
, a) they disagree with the prediction that organisms cannot evolve shorter life spans.
b) they disagree with the prediction that organisms are already living as long as possible
as a result of natural selection to maximize fitness.
c) All of the above are false because Luckinbill et al.'s results are actually in agreement
with the rate of living theory of aging.
d) they disagree with the prediction that mutations acting late in life favor early
reproduction.
e) they disagree with the prediction that organisms are already reproducing as early as
possible as a result of natural selection to maximize fitness.
D - Correct Answers -Why does Lack's simple model of ideal clutch size tend to over-
predict the actual clutch size observed in nature?
a) Lack's model has a fundamental mathematical error that causes it to overestimate
the average actual clutch size.
b) Lack's model does not take into consideration a female's future reproductive success
causing the model to over-predict the ideal clutch size found in nature.
c) Lack's model does not distinguish between survival of the offspring and the quality of
the offspring.
d) Answers B and C are correct.
e) Answers A and B are correct.
B - Correct Answers -The greater ani is a Central and South American member of the
cuckoo family. Adult males and females form mated pairs but then unrelated couples
nest together, typically in groups of 2-3 pairs. All the females lay eggs into the same
communal nest, and all adults work together to incubate the eggs, feed chicks, and
defend the nest. Based on the research discussed in class, why do mated pairs join
forces instead of building their own single-family nests?
a) Because it takes multiple mating pairs to build the large, structurally complex nests
that greater ani use.
b) Because, on average, three-pair groups are better able to protect their young from
predators and produce more fledglings per parent than do two-pair groups.
c) Communal nests are a result of brood parasitism, which arises when some mated
pairs add eggs to the nests of others, but then do not help to raise the young.
d) None of the above.
e) Because nesting sites are rare, which forces groups of mating pairs to share nests.
A - Correct Answers -Belding's ground squirrels are most likely to sound alarm calls
(trills) when
a) they are adult females and close kin are nearby.
b) they are adult males and close kin are nearby.
c) they are adult males.
d) they are adult females.
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
D - Correct Answers -Markow et al. (1993) determined the genotypes of 122 Havasupai
people at two loci (HLA-A and HLA-B) in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC),
finding a significant excess of heterozygotes compared to Hardy-Weinberg
expectations. Based on subsequent research, which one of the following statements
have been put forth to explain this result:
a) Havasupai individuals are choosing mates with HLA-A and HLA-B genotypes
different from their own.
b) Havasupai fetuses, children, and/or adults have a higher probability of survival if they
are heterozygous at HLA-A and HLA-B.
c) Havasupai individuals have higher reproductive success if their parents are
homozygous at HLA-A and HLA-B.
d) Answers a and b.
e) Answers b and C
C - Correct Answers -This figure presents data on energy expenditure per gram of
tissue for a number of different mammalian orders. Assuming that aging is the result of
the irreversible damage to cells caused by the accumulation of poisonous metabolic by-
products, which one of the following statements is true?
a) Primates (lemurs, monkeys, and apes, including humans) should be the longest-lived
order.
b) Hyraxes (Hyracoidea) should be the shortest-lived order.
c) We should expect to see little variation among different mammals in energy
expendature per gram of tissue.
d) Elephant shrews (Macroscelidea) should be the shortest-lived order.
e) Bats (Chiroptera) should be the longest-lived order.
R = 1/8 - Correct Answers -What is the coefficient of relationship (r) between the actor
and the recipient in the figure to the right? Actor --> Actor's Parent --> Actor's aunt/uncle
--> Recipient
D - Correct Answers -Research currently supports which one of the following
hypotheses as the best explanation for the evolution of menopause in humans?
a) Compared to men, the reproductive tract of women is more sensitive to the
accumulation of poisonous byproducts of metabolism.
,b) The genes that determine an individual's fertility mutate at a higher rate in women
than in men.
c) Because women who live past the age of 50 are too feeble to help raise children or
grandchildren, they may as well undergo menopause.
d) Older women reach an age at which inclusive fitness is maximized more by helping
to raise grandchildren than by trying to produce their own children.
e) Because most humans died by the age of 50, mutations that reduce reproductive
capacity late in life accumulated and were rarely expressed in premodern cultures.
These mutations are now manifested as menopause at age 50 to 55 in modern women.
C < Br - Correct Answers -Hamilton's Rule states that a gene for altruistic behavior will
be favored by kin selection when:
Negative frequency dependent selection - Correct Answers -A 1:1 sex ratio is the result
of which form of selection?
B - Correct Answers -Which one of the following statements is not consistent with the
Evolutionary Theory of Aging?
a) Mutations that decrease survival or reproduction late in life will accumulate in
populations.
b) Aging is caused by the irreversible damage to cells caused by the accumulation of
poisonous metabolic by-products.
c) Aging is due to the failure of organisms to completely repair to cellular damage.
d) Mutations that decrease survival or reproduction late in life have relatively small
effects on fitness.
e) Aging is due to mutations in genes that repair DNA damage, such as DNA mismatch
errors.
Local Mate competition - Correct Answers -Female-biased sex ratios, as found in fig
wasps, are expected under conditions of
B - Correct Answers -Solve the following question on the basis of inclusive fitness. J. B.
S. Haldane (one of the fathers of population genetics) was once explaining kin selection
to some friends in a pub. As the story goes, he scribbled some calculations on an
envelope and announced that, from an evolutionary perspective, he would be willing to
give up his life in even exchange for
a) One son
b) Four half-sib brothers
c) Six first cousins
d) none of the above
e) One full-sib brother
,A - Correct Answers -Given the relationship between clutch size and the probability of
survival of individual offspring shown in the figure to the right, what is the optimal clutch
size?
a) 5
b) 10
c) 15
d) 1
e) 20
C - Correct Answers -Fox et al. studied phenotypic plasticity in egg size in the seed
beetle, Stator limbatus, on two of its natural hosts, an acacia (Acacia greggii) and a palo
verde (Cercidium floridum). The acacia is a good host and the palo verde a poor host
with respect to larval development and survival. In a host switch experiment, Fox and
colleagues placed newly emerged females on each kind of seed, let them lay their first
egg, and then switched them to the other kind of seed. How did the size of the eggs
females laid change over the following 72 hours?
a) There was no change because once a female lays its first egg it produces the same
size egg for life.
b) None of the above statements is true.
c) Females that laid their first egg on acacia produced small eggs at first and when
switched to palo verde then gradually switched to larger eggs.
d) Females that laid their first egg on acacia produced large eggs at first and when
switched to palo verde then gradually switched to smaller eggs.
e) Females that laid their first egg on palo verde produced small eggs at first and when
switched to acacia then gradually switched to larger eggs.
D - Correct Answers -The figure to the right shows results from Schluter and
Gustafsson's (1993) work experimentally modifying clutch size in collared flycatchers.
Which one of the following statements concerning this figure is true?
a) When eggs were added to a nest the clutch size produced by surviving daughters
increased.
b) Insect parasitoids have a negative impact on brood size.
c) When cuckoos, which are nest parasites, add eggs to a nest the number of daughters
in the nest increased.
d) When eggs were added to a nest the clutch size produced by surviving daughters
decreased.
e) The removal of eggs by predators decreased the number of daughters within a nest.
B - Correct Answers -Luckenbill et al. (1984) selected for late and early reproduction on
two populations each of wild caught fruit flies (D. melanogaster). The results of their
selection experiments are shown below with late reproducing selected lines above, and
early reproducing selected lines below.
These results are inconsistent with the rate of living theory of aging because:
, a) they disagree with the prediction that organisms cannot evolve shorter life spans.
b) they disagree with the prediction that organisms are already living as long as possible
as a result of natural selection to maximize fitness.
c) All of the above are false because Luckinbill et al.'s results are actually in agreement
with the rate of living theory of aging.
d) they disagree with the prediction that mutations acting late in life favor early
reproduction.
e) they disagree with the prediction that organisms are already reproducing as early as
possible as a result of natural selection to maximize fitness.
D - Correct Answers -Why does Lack's simple model of ideal clutch size tend to over-
predict the actual clutch size observed in nature?
a) Lack's model has a fundamental mathematical error that causes it to overestimate
the average actual clutch size.
b) Lack's model does not take into consideration a female's future reproductive success
causing the model to over-predict the ideal clutch size found in nature.
c) Lack's model does not distinguish between survival of the offspring and the quality of
the offspring.
d) Answers B and C are correct.
e) Answers A and B are correct.
B - Correct Answers -The greater ani is a Central and South American member of the
cuckoo family. Adult males and females form mated pairs but then unrelated couples
nest together, typically in groups of 2-3 pairs. All the females lay eggs into the same
communal nest, and all adults work together to incubate the eggs, feed chicks, and
defend the nest. Based on the research discussed in class, why do mated pairs join
forces instead of building their own single-family nests?
a) Because it takes multiple mating pairs to build the large, structurally complex nests
that greater ani use.
b) Because, on average, three-pair groups are better able to protect their young from
predators and produce more fledglings per parent than do two-pair groups.
c) Communal nests are a result of brood parasitism, which arises when some mated
pairs add eggs to the nests of others, but then do not help to raise the young.
d) None of the above.
e) Because nesting sites are rare, which forces groups of mating pairs to share nests.
A - Correct Answers -Belding's ground squirrels are most likely to sound alarm calls
(trills) when
a) they are adult females and close kin are nearby.
b) they are adult males and close kin are nearby.
c) they are adult males.
d) they are adult females.
