BIOLOGY 1407 FINAL EXAM REVIEW
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
In evolutionary terms, an organism's fitness is measured by its _____. - Correct
Answers -Contribution to the gene pool of the next generation
What is the only evolutionary mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution? -
Correct Answers -Natural selection
Within six months of effectively using methicillin to treat S. aureus infections in a
community, all new infections were caused by MRSA. How can this result best be
explained? - Correct Answers -Some drug-resistant bacteria were present at the start of
treatment, and natural selection increased their frequency.
Soapberry bugs use needlelike "beaks" to feed on seeds within the fruits of various
plants. Bugs feed most successfully when their beak length matches the size of the fruit
on which they are feeding. For 25 years, populations of soapberry bugs in central
Florida have been feeding on small goldenrain tree fruits that were introduced to the
area, rather than on the larger native balloon vine fruits that serve as food for other
soapberry bug populations. Beak lengths of soapberry bugs are variable, but the
average beak length is shorter in soapberry bug populations that feed on goldenrain
tree fruits than in populations that feed on balloon vine fruits, as shown in the graph.
How does natural selection act on beak length in soapberry bug populations? - Correct
Answers -The action of natural selection on beak length in soapberry bug populations
varies with the environment.
Charles Darwin _____. - Correct Answers -Proposed natural selection as the
mechanism of evolution
The largest unit within which gene flow can readily occur is a - Correct Answers -
Species
Males of different species of the fruit fly Drosophila that live in the same parts of the
Hawaiian Islands have different elaborate courtship rituals. These rituals involve fighting
other males and making stylized movements that attract females. What type of
reproductive isolation does this represent? - Correct Answers -Behavioral isolation
, According to the punctuated equilibria model, - Correct Answers -Most new species
accumulate their unique features relatively rapidly as they come into existence, then
change little for the rest of their duration as a species.
Select the correct statement describing sympatric speciation.
- Sympatric speciation has never been observed in nature.
- Sympatric speciation can occur in a single generation.
- Sympatric speciation is always initiated by geographic isolation of two populations. -
Correct Answers -Sympatric speciation can occur in a single generation.
Which of these is an example of temporal isolation?
- One species performs a specific courtship dance. the other species does not.
- The average weight of the individuals in one species is 45 kg; in the other species the
average is 290 kg.
- One is a type of primate, the other is a type of marsupial.
- One species is found only in New York, the other only in London.
- One species is nocturnal, and the other species is not. - Correct Answers -One
species is nocturnal, and the other species is not.
Adaptive radiations can be a direct consequence of four of the following five factors.
SELECT THE EXCEPTION.
- evolutionary innovation
-an adaptive radiation in a group of organisms (such as plants) that another group uses
as food
-genetic drift
-colonization of an isolated region that contains suitable habitat and few competitor
species
-vacant ecological niches - Correct Answers -Genetic drift
The oldest fossils usually _____. - Correct Answers -Are found in the deepest strata
Which of the following taxonomic categories contains all the others listed here?
-order
-class
-species
-family
-genus - Correct Answers -Class
Animals that possess homologous structures probably _____. - Correct Answers -
Evolved from the same ancestor
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
In evolutionary terms, an organism's fitness is measured by its _____. - Correct
Answers -Contribution to the gene pool of the next generation
What is the only evolutionary mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution? -
Correct Answers -Natural selection
Within six months of effectively using methicillin to treat S. aureus infections in a
community, all new infections were caused by MRSA. How can this result best be
explained? - Correct Answers -Some drug-resistant bacteria were present at the start of
treatment, and natural selection increased their frequency.
Soapberry bugs use needlelike "beaks" to feed on seeds within the fruits of various
plants. Bugs feed most successfully when their beak length matches the size of the fruit
on which they are feeding. For 25 years, populations of soapberry bugs in central
Florida have been feeding on small goldenrain tree fruits that were introduced to the
area, rather than on the larger native balloon vine fruits that serve as food for other
soapberry bug populations. Beak lengths of soapberry bugs are variable, but the
average beak length is shorter in soapberry bug populations that feed on goldenrain
tree fruits than in populations that feed on balloon vine fruits, as shown in the graph.
How does natural selection act on beak length in soapberry bug populations? - Correct
Answers -The action of natural selection on beak length in soapberry bug populations
varies with the environment.
Charles Darwin _____. - Correct Answers -Proposed natural selection as the
mechanism of evolution
The largest unit within which gene flow can readily occur is a - Correct Answers -
Species
Males of different species of the fruit fly Drosophila that live in the same parts of the
Hawaiian Islands have different elaborate courtship rituals. These rituals involve fighting
other males and making stylized movements that attract females. What type of
reproductive isolation does this represent? - Correct Answers -Behavioral isolation
, According to the punctuated equilibria model, - Correct Answers -Most new species
accumulate their unique features relatively rapidly as they come into existence, then
change little for the rest of their duration as a species.
Select the correct statement describing sympatric speciation.
- Sympatric speciation has never been observed in nature.
- Sympatric speciation can occur in a single generation.
- Sympatric speciation is always initiated by geographic isolation of two populations. -
Correct Answers -Sympatric speciation can occur in a single generation.
Which of these is an example of temporal isolation?
- One species performs a specific courtship dance. the other species does not.
- The average weight of the individuals in one species is 45 kg; in the other species the
average is 290 kg.
- One is a type of primate, the other is a type of marsupial.
- One species is found only in New York, the other only in London.
- One species is nocturnal, and the other species is not. - Correct Answers -One
species is nocturnal, and the other species is not.
Adaptive radiations can be a direct consequence of four of the following five factors.
SELECT THE EXCEPTION.
- evolutionary innovation
-an adaptive radiation in a group of organisms (such as plants) that another group uses
as food
-genetic drift
-colonization of an isolated region that contains suitable habitat and few competitor
species
-vacant ecological niches - Correct Answers -Genetic drift
The oldest fossils usually _____. - Correct Answers -Are found in the deepest strata
Which of the following taxonomic categories contains all the others listed here?
-order
-class
-species
-family
-genus - Correct Answers -Class
Animals that possess homologous structures probably _____. - Correct Answers -
Evolved from the same ancestor
