Evolutionary Analysis Chapter 3 Study Questions with correct answers

Successful artificial selection, such as that practiced by plant and animal breeders to modify their crops and livestock, depends on which of the following? Answer All of these are necessary for artificial selection to take place. Darwin's postulates must be true for selection to occur, whether it is artificial selection or natural selection. Thus, for artificial selection to occur, the population must have variation in the desired trait, the variation must be heritable, and breeders must be able to cause nonrandom differences in reproductive success. Which is the best definition of Darwinian fitness? Answer The ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in a certain environment, compared to other individuals. Fitness is always measured for an individual relative to other individuals of the same species, and it is always measured within a certain environment. (Fitness may change in a different environment.) An adaptation is best defined as _______________. Answer any trait that increases fitness Name the two scientists who independently discovered the principle of natural selection. Which one is more famous, and why? Answer Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Darwin's name is more famous because he had clearly thought of it first, and because he had compiled an enormous set of evidence that showed that his four postulates of selection were true for most populations.